The Dance of Fate
by obvious things are obvious
Summary: Sasuke already came back to Konoha. He already killed his brother and is now planning to fulfill his second ambition. But when he was just about to tell Sakura how he feels, he discovers that she has leukemia. What will now happen? DISCONTINUED
1. The Midnight Return

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to my new fanfic!!! Okay, so the other one was discontinued… I am so sorry for the readers of that fic but since I don't have enough time to rewrite that fic, I discontinued it _for the mean time_… just to give way to this new one… I will continue that one I promise… just be patient… Please enjoy reading this fic!!! Read and Review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I do then I would've been freakin' rich by now. I also don't own the lyrics. It's from the song Kismet.

* * *

Chapter 1: **The Midnight Return**

_Didn't mean to take you for granted  
Didn't mean to show I don't care  
Didn't mean to throw away this once in a lifetime of chance  
Being with you_

It was midnight. Almost all of the streets of Konoha are now deserted except for one. In this particular street, a boy of about 16 is walking silently. He is tall and muscular. He is pale yet not as pale as he was before. His raven locks covering most of his face. He has a backpack with him and it seems that he has no intentions of showing himself to anybody. This boy is the lone survivor of his clan. He is the one who betrayed Konoha not long ago just to gain power from one of the sworn enemies of Konoha in order to kill his brother. Yes, you may have already guessed who he is. He is of course Uchiha Sasuke.

Now one may wonder why he returned seeing that he is already reluctant to go back even with Itachi dead was because of Sakura. The last time he saw Sakura was during their last battle about three months ago. He was sure that he injured Sakura so bad that there was a slim possibility of her being able to survive that. But he knew better, sure Sakura was pretty weak and useless back in their genin days but there were times that she proved that she could be one hell of a strong and stubborn girl. He was quite impressed to see how much she had grown over the past years.

Not only was it physically (everybody already noticed that) but also mentally and emotionally. He was also taken aback when she tried to fight him with all her might which she wouldn't even dare think of back then. Before, Sakura was scared of him and she even agrees to everything that he says back then. But of course, he, Uchiha Sasuke, will not be beaten up by a weak and useless fan girl and teammate of his even if she did became stronger. He was still stronger than her anyways or so he thought. Well, he doesn't really think that she is weak and useless. He just says that to himself because he doesn't want to think that he is really in love with her. It is pretty dumb of him to still deny it when he already came back just for her but oh well, we all know how stubborn he is. He just doesn't want to hurt his Uchiha pride.

So back where we started, he was on his way to his old apartment when he stopped dead on his tracks. Why? Well he saw the person who made him go back, the person he always thinks of every night, the person who haunts him in his dreams aside from his family. Yup, you're right again. She is Haruno Sakura. Sakura just came back from the hospital where she drained almost all of her chakra again. She was so tired that she didn't even notice another presence in her surroundings. She just wanted to go home and sleep so badly. Fatigue really was getting the best of her again.

* * *

"Come on Sakura! Just step a little more and you could already sleep in that soft bed of yours," Sakura said encouraging herself. The thought of her bed seemed to cheer her up in spite of being really sleepy so she took faster steps to the street. 

Sasuke was watching her not far from where she was. He barely stopped himself from carrying Sakura to her house. 'Hn. Never thought she'll still be awake at this time,' he thought.

Sakura was still walking groggily when she tripped into a rock, she was too sleepy to use her ninja reflexes that she already expected herself to hit the ground but she was surprised that a pair of strong arms caught her. And then all went pitch black.

* * *

A/N: 

Yippee!!! The first chappie's done!!! I know it's short and I'm sorry. I promise to make it longer next time… Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! See you next time!!! Ja ne!!!


	2. The Wrath of the Kunoichi

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to another chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Please enjoy reading… Read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! And if you guys wanted me to update this fic then please review!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… Yep... Because if I did then Sasuke wouldn't have gone to Sound…

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Chapter 2: **The Wrath of the Kunoichi**

Sakura woke up from her slumber. She saw that her room was so dark when it shouldn't have been. Then it hit her. News Flash: This isn't your bedroom Haruno.

'Okay. Calm down Sakura. If any damn pervert touched you then he's going to get hit squarely in his crotch,' Sakura thought. 'HELL YEAH!!!' Inner Sakura shouted and with that Sakura got out of bed.

"Go back to sleep," a deep masculine voice said. Sakura saw that the voice came from a boy lying in the couch with a pillow on his head.

"Who are you? Where am I and what did you do to me?" Sakura asked demandingly. No pervert is going to get away from her whoever he is.

"Could you be anymore annoying?" the voice asked clearly irritated. "Just sleep already." Just then a kunai whizzed to the boy. The boy clearly caught off-guard rolled out the couch.

"Sakura, what the hell was that for?" the boy asked while getting up. Sakura's eyes widened. It's too impossible to be him.

"N-no… Y-you ca-can't be… Y-you just ca-can't b-be h-him," Sakura stuttered. Her stutter is even worse than Hinata's. She started stepping backward until her back touched the wall. Her face turned so pale as if she had just seen a ghost.

Sasuke walked towards Sakura. He went so close that one may think that he was going to kiss Sakura but he just whispered something to her ear. "What if I am him?" he asked.

* * *

Sakura felt a chill down her spine. She could feel Sasuke's warm breath on her ear and face. She was speechless. Just then it hit her like a chakra-encased punch. She knew that Sasuke would never do that to her so she did what she thought was necessary. She punched the boy straight on the face. Sasuke was shocked yet again by her EXTREMELY hard punch. He was slammed on the wall with his nose bleeding.

"Sasuke won't do that to me. I'm not dumb you know," Sakura said smirking. 'TAKE THAT PERVERT!!!' Inner Sakura shouted yet again. But Sakura knew something was wrong, if the person only used Henge then he should've gone poof by now revealing who he really is.

"You do know that hurt a lot, don't you?" Sasuke asked while still clutching his bleeding nose. He slowly walked back to Sakura this time with the Sharingan activated.

'O-OH…' was all Inner Sakura could say. "You have gotta be kidding me. S-sasuke? Is that really you?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"Hn. It's me," Sasuke said smirking. But to Sasuke's surprise, Sakura did NOT rush to hug him or something. Oh no, instead Sakura just had a somewhat triumphant and also an angry look on her face.

"Huh? What's with the face?" Sasuke asked. He looked quizzically at Sakura. Then, Sakura shot a deadly glare at him.

"That's all you're gonna ask? Are you really out of your mind!?! My God… Have you gone INSANE?!? After all that you did, you expect me to what? Hug you or something? Of course not!!! After what you told me on our last battle? You think I'd give a damn about you now? Well you're wrong Uchiha!!!" Sakura burst out. Even though she was angry she was also on the verge of tears. 'CHA!!! DON'T CRY YOU IDIOT!!! HE DESERVES IT!!!' Inner Sakura yelled.

It was now Sasuke who was speechless. He knew that he did say many harsh words to her three months ago. He injured her both physically and emotionally. He knew that what he told her really hurt a lot.

_

* * *

_

"_Hn. I already told you I won't go back," Sasuke said in a monotonous voice to a badly injured Sakura. Naruto and the others were also injured by the other members of Team Snake. They were all busy fighting the other enemy ninjas._

"_Well, we already told you that until we hadn't dragged you back to Konoha or until we hadn't put some common sense into that apparently empty head of yours we won't stop looking for you," a panting Sakura said. She was quite angry at Sasuke being too stubborn and being dumber than Naruto. _

"_Hn. You don't understand me. All of you don't understand me. I'm an avenger... I must obtain power no matter what, even if I must let the devil take hold of my body… This is the only way I can kill HIM…" Sasuke said with hatred. "That's the reason why I broke bonds with you, with Team 7, with Konoha… All of you are just going to make me weaker. You're just nuisances to my goal in killing Itachi," Sasuke said._

"_But bonds may make you weaker but they will make you stronger at the same time," Sakura said earnestly. "Why can't you understand? We could help you kill HIM. We aren't going to stop you. He even wants to get Naruto. All of us could work together to kill him."_

"_What will I do with a blonde idiot and a weak pink-haired girl?" Sasuke asked arrogantly. Sakura was already on the verge to tears. WEAK… that's how he called her. _

"_I hate you, Uchiha," Sakura said with the most venomous voice even though she was already crying inside. "Don't you worry because the next time I see you won't just receive the hardest punch ever but I swear I'm gonna kick your ass so badly that you'll be stuck in the hospital for a month."_

_End of Flashback_

* * *

"Hn. I wasn't thinking back then," Sasuke said quietly. He was ashamed of all the stupid things he had said before.

"You weren't thinking," Sakura repeated sarcastically. "Of course you weren't thinking you bullshit! I was under the impression that THE Uchiha Sasuke won't do anything that stupid! Do you know how hard it was for us to look for you? We searched everywhere! Yet when we found you, you didn't even listen to our pleas… you went straight to killing us! Do you know how much that hurts?" Then a laugh filled with despair escaped Sakura's lips. "Of course not, I forgot you're a human ice cube."

"I know I was stupid to do that. Stupid to say all those harsh words but you have no idea of what I've experienced," Sasuke said in monotone. "You thought what you experienced was already the worst then think again, Sakura. Do you know how broken I have become after that? No, because you were too busy fussing over my looks to see how I really feel inside."

"Of course I don't know how it feels!!!" Sakura yelled with tears falling from her eyes. "What about Naruto? Huh? He had a whole village despising him yet he never gave up! He didn't have anybody to care for him except for Iruka-sensei while you, you have a whole village admiring you, half the girl population here in Konoha admiring you and yet you have to shut everybody away! What the hell is wrong with you!?! You call yourself an avenger, well avenger my ass!!! You're too excited to get powerful when you know yourself that you'll obtain it anyway! I know that it hurts so much but do you have any I mean ANY idea that if you just shut yourself in the past and never move on you're just killing yourself? You should have just stabbed yourself so that the whole Uchi-." Just then Sakura collapsed Hinata-style.

* * *

"Sakura!!!" Sasuke shouted as he rushed to Sakura. He noticed how pale she was. 'Shit. What the hell happened to her? One time she was just shouting and then she faints. Sakura was never like this even on our last encounter but now,' Sasuke thought while looking at Sakura who was looking really pallid.

Now he has two problems: First, how to get Sakura to the hospital and second, how to report to the Hokage that he wants to become a Konoha ninja again. Then suddenly an idea popped in his mind.

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A/N: 

YAY!!! The second chapter's done!!! Just to clarify things up, the fainting-thing is like foreshadowing Sakura's sickness. I hope you readers enjoyed!!! Review people or I won't be updating anytime soon!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!


	3. The Sensei and the Trip to the Hospital

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Thanks to all the readers and reviewers!!! They are much appreciated… Anyway, welcome to a new chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! I hope you guys like it!!! Read and Review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… do I have to keep repeating this over and over again?

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Chapter 3: **The Sensei and the Trip to the Hospital**

Kakashi was just minding his own business in his apartment. Of course it means reading Icha Icha Paradise… Jusr then, he felt a presence.

"Come out now," Kakashi said. The chakra of the person was all too familiar to him but he can't pinpoint who it was exactly.

The person still didn't show himself. Kakashi now looked up from his book and narrowed his eyes. His hand now went to his kunai pouch where he got a kunai. Suddenly, a kunai whizzed towards him so he deflected it with another kunai. Then the person came out and it was carrying Sakura notable because of her pink hair.

Kakashi stood up now in his fighting stance. "Why are you carrying Sakura?" he asked. But then he gaped at who the person carrying Sakura was. If not only for his mask, his jaw could have dropped to the ground by now. "S-sasuke?"

"Hn. She collapsed," he said briefly. He just had to explain the details later but now, Sakura had to be brought in the hospital.

Kakashi looked at Sakura and saw that she was as pale as ever. "What happened?" his mind was too slow to cope up with what was happening.

"Could we just bring her to the hospital now?" Sasuke asked clearly annoyed.

"Come on," Kakashi said now heading towards the door. "Wait. You can't go out looking like that," he said as he looked at Sasuke.

"I know," Sasuke said. "Who will I change into?" he asked.

"Sai," Kakashi answered. He knew that Sai was still in his apartment by this time so there would be a slim possibility to meet him. Plus, Naruto is on a mission right now and since Sai is also a member of the Team 7, he also has concern for Sakura.

"Why him?" Sasuke asked. He is annoyed by the fact that Sai replaced him in the team and that he looks like him.

"Because I said so," Kakashi said simply. He heard Sasuke mumble something as he changed into Sai. Then, Kakashi carried Sakura and they headed to the hospital.

* * *

"So, what happened exactly?" Kakashi asked Sasuke as they were waiting for Sakura being checked by the doctors. 

"Hn. I was walking back to my old apartment last night and I saw her, she was really tired. Then, she tripped on a rock and I caught her and she fell asleep. I was about to take her to her house but then I remembered that I didn't know where she lived so I took her to my old apartment. When she woke up this morning, she was shocked. She even thought that I was just using a Henge to look like me. She grew frantic and then she collapsed," Sasuke explained.

_Flashback_

"_Hn. I wasn't thinking back then," Sasuke said quietly. He was ashamed of all the stupid things he had said before. _

"_You weren't thinking," Sakura repeated sarcastically. "Of course you weren't thinking you bullshit! I was under the impression that THE Uchiha Sasuke won't do anything that stupid! Do you know how hard it was for us to look for you? We searched everywhere! Yet when we found you, you didn't even listen to our pleas… you went straight to killing us! Do you know how much that hurts?" Then a laugh filled with despair escaped Sakura's lips. "Of course not, I forgot you're a human ice cube."_

"_I know I was stupid to do that. Stupid to say all those harsh words but you have no idea of what I've experienced," Sasuke said in monotone. "You thought what you experienced was already the worst then think again, Sakura. Do you know how broken I have become after that? No, because you were too busy fussing over my looks to see how I really feel inside."_

"_Of course I don't know how it feels!!!" Sakura yelled with tears falling from her eyes. "What about Naruto? Huh? He had a whole village despising him yet he never gave up! He didn't have anybody to care for him except for Iruka-sensei while you, you have a whole village admiring you, half the girl population here in Konoha admiring you and yet you have to shut everybody away! What the hell is wrong with you!?! You call yourself an avenger, well avenger my ass!!! You're too excited to get powerful when you know yourself that you'll obtain it anyway! I know that it hurts so much but do you have any I mean ANY idea that if you just shut yourself in the past and never move on you're just killing yourself? You should have just stabbed yourself so that the whole Uchi-." Just then Sakura collapsed Hinata-style. _

"_Sakura!!!" Sasuke shouted as he rushed to Sakura. He noticed how pale she was. 'Shit. What the hell happened to her? One time she was just shouting and then she faints. Sakura was never like this even on our last encounter but now,' Sasuke thought while looking at Sakura who was looking really pallid. _

_End Flashback_

* * *

"Thank Kami-sama Naruto's on a mission right now. If he knew this then he'd be rampaging here right now," Kakashi said going back to the page he was reading. Sasuke sweat dropped at his former sensei's antics. Then, a nurse approached them. 

"How is she?" Kakashi asked looking up.

"She's sleeping right now. You could go visit her but only for a moment," the nurse said beckoning them to Sakura's room. "Strange," the nurse mumbled as she looked at Sakura's check up.

"Why?" Sasuke asked the nurse. He has a bad feeling about this already.

"Umm… She has blue and black spots in some parts of her body. We don't know what the cause of it is yet," the nurse said. Seeing the look on Sasuke's face, the nurse quickly said, "But don't worry it's nothing big I assure you."

Sasuke was not convinced by this and he couldn't shake the worry away from his eyes. Unknown to him, Kakashi was observing his actions carefully. 'So he's now worried about Sakura-chan, eh?' Kakashi thought with an evil glint in his eyes. 'This is going to be interesting.'

* * *

When they reached Sakura's room, the nurse left them for a while. They saw that her color was coming back. They also saw that there were spots in her arms. Both of them took their seat on either side of Sakura. After a few minutes, Kakashi stood up. 

"I'm going to report this to the Hokage," Kakashi said. Before Sasuke could complain he already added, "Just stay here. I'll come back and then we'll go to the Hokage to know what they're going to do with you." Then, Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

'Damn. I forgot about my punishment,' Sasuke thought. He looked at Sakura and the look of concern returned to his face. He knew that Sakura was a strong girl. She wouldn't just collapse like that. Plus, she's a medic-nin, why the hell would she suddenly faint like that? Sasuke couldn't stop himself from touching Sakura's hand. With this action, he felt at peace with himself… a feeling that he hadn't felt for a long time ever since the clan's massacre.

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A/N: 

YAY!!! This chapter's done!!! God, I didn't think I was going to finish this chapter because of my projects and exams coming this week but here it is… Just to clear things up, the spots that appeared on Sakura's body is a symptom of her leukemia… Hope you guys enjoyed reading!!! Please Read and Review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!


	4. The Punishment and Unanswerable Question

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the new chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thanks to all the readers and reviewers of this fic!!! Hope you'll enjoy reading!!! Please read and review!!! If I don't get at least 5 reviews for this chapter then I won't be updating soon… Constructive criticism is still welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… If I did then Sasuke and Sakura should've been a couple already… That's why I'm posting this in Fanfiction…

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Chapter 4: **The Punishment and the Unanswerable Question**

Sakura opened her eyes only to find herself in another bedroom that wasn't hers _again_… But now she knew where she was but she had no idea why she was there.

'Huh? Why am I here?' Sakura was too confused to notice Sasuke (in Sai's form) _holding her hand_. She remembered that she was at Sasuke's apartment and then she remembered collapsing. 'Oh yeah… So that's what happened.'

She tried to sit up but then she noticed that somebody was holding her hand. That somebody being Sai. (Okay, so it's Sasuke but she didn't know that) 'WTF?!?' was all Sakura could think about.

"You should be taking a rest, you know," Sasuke said now releasing Sakura's hand.

"Who are you and what did you do to Sai?" Sakura asked warningly. She knew that Sai wouldn't hold her hand _ever_ because if he did then it means that hell is already breaking loose.

"It's me," Sasuke said releasing the Henge he did.

"Don't fool with me. You CANNOT be Sasuke," Sakura said now preparing her stance but finding it a little hard to do because of her condition.

Then, Kakashi poofed out of nowhere. "Come on, Sasuke," Kakshi said but then he saw the scene between the two. Sakura looked at Kakashi wide-eyed and then to Sasuke.

"You've got to be kidding me," Sakura said.

"Sorry Sakura but I am not," Kakashi said. "Come on, Sasuke before Sakura could destroy this building," he added before going out of the window.

"Hn," was all Sasuke could say before following Kakashi. He then smirked at Sakura who just gaped at him before going out of the window.

"What the hell?" was all Sakura could say before collapsing to her bed. Then she eyed the window where Sasuke was seconds ago before sighing. 'Why does he always keep on catching me off-guard?' she asked her inner self but to her dismay was nowhere to be found. She then rolled to her side before closing her eyes.

* * *

"Ah… Good that you're already here," Tsunade said as she looked up from the paperwork she was reading. The she cleared her throat. "You are aware of your status here in Konoha, aren't you?"

"Hn," Sasuke replied. "You don't need to tell me all the things I did."

Then, Tsunade sighed. "Very well, you are to be on probation for three months. You will not do any mission so long as your probation is not yet over. You will be monitored daily by Anbu and you are not allowed to lock your door at any times. You are prohibited from leaving the village. And you will also meet the village council during weekends. You will have a curfew from nine at night up to seven in the morning. Oh, and you'll be staying in the Uchiha Manor till your probation is over. Any questions?" Tsunade asked the Uchiha.

"Why are you doing this?" Sasuke asked as the Hokage smirked. He never knew that he would only be under probation after all that he did.

"I knew you'd come back so I already organized the whole thing and Naruto had been harassing me ever since he came back from his training with Jiraiya. The elders were a little hard to convince, mind you, but with Naruto's and probably mine's bugging, they finally gave in. Anyway, you're dismissed," Tsunade said signaling him and Kakashi that they could already go.

* * *

Many were wide-eyed when they saw Sasuke coming out of the Hokage's office with Kakashi. After their shocked washed off, some started to glare daggers at him while some whispered something to others. But he didn't pay any heed to them, as long as he's back in Konoha, everything will be alright. Or so he thinks…

"So Sasuke," Kakashi started as they walked out of th Hokage Tower. He looked at Sasuke from the corner of his eyes.

"Hn?" Sasuke gave a questioning glance to his former sensei.

"Why were you so concerned about Sakura?" he asked trying to sound uninterested and yet Sasuke could see the evil glint in his only visible eye.

"I wasn't," Sasuke retorted trying to sound that he was telling the truth as he glared daggers at Kakashi. Of course, Kakashi was not the one to back down easily.

"Oh yeah? Then why were you holding her hand when I left?" Kakashi surely caught Sasuke off guard. He couldn't let the opportunity to see Sasuke being concern with someone slide.

Sasuke didn't know how to respond so he did what he thought was best. He ran as fast as he could to his old apartment. He honestly didn't know the reason behind his actions. It already came in his mind but he knew that it was impossible to happen so he pushed it to the very back of his mind.

"You won't be able to evade me that easily, Sasuke," Kakashi said as he eyed where his student was minutes ago. Who knew that it was fun to get under Sasuke's skin? It surely cracked his mask. 'This is getting very interesting indeed,' he thought as he walked away from the Hokage tower still holding his precious book.

* * *

Sasuke closed the door of his old apartment. He barely managed to escape Kakashi's questions which were by far too awkward. Shaking his head as he made his way to his closet, he picked up all the things he needed. He then put all those things in his backpack before going to the Uchiha Manor. He was instructed to go there after all but he still can't shake the feeling of foreboding off because of what memories this house brought up.

Sighing as he made his way out of his apartment, he then continued to walk to the Uchiha Manor. Contemplating many thoughts as he did so. He still can't crack the reason as to why he behaved like that when he was near Sakura.

She did act different but what does that have to do with his actions? Then he remembered what Kakashi asked him. He still couldn't answer those questions so he just let those thought slide. He didn't notice that he was already at the Uchiha Manor so it came as a shock to him when he saw the Uchiha clan symbol everywhere in the vicinity.

* * *

A/N: 

Thank Kami-sama this chapter is already done… I had my first encounter of writer's block so I wasn't able to update earlier. Anyway, please don't decapitate me yet… ToT Anyways, please still review!!! Hope you still liked this chapter!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!

On a side note: It's already our sembreak!!! YAY!!! We won't have any classes for two weeks so expect me to update faster. But I won't be able to update anything from Tuesday to Wednesday because we're going to the province. Please still have faith in me!!! I'll update as soon as I get back!!! I'll also try to update a new chapter tomorrow but please be patient…


	5. The Blonde, the Generic and the Manor

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the new chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thanks to all the readers and reviewers!!! Okay so I updated as promised… But I won't be able to update tomorrow and on Wednesday… Sorry!!! I'll update as soon as I get back!!! Anyway, please read and review!!! Hope you'll enjoy reading!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: My mission Steal-Naruto-from-Kishimoto-san was a failure… (sigh) but now… I have a new mission!!! Mission Kidnap-Sasuke-and-Lock-Him-in-my-Closet now in progress!!! (evil laugh) Anyway… on with the story!!!

* * *

Chapter 5: **The Blonde, the Generic and the Manor**

"RAMEN!!!" a loud-mouthed ninja shouted as he dashed through the gates of Konoha.

"He will never change," a long-haired boy said as he shook his head.

"The longer the mission is, the louder he gets," a girl with her hair in two buns replied to the long-haired boy. "Hey, Naruto!!! We still have to report to the Hokage!!!"

"But I'm hungry!!!" Naruto whined. "Couldn't baachan wait?"

"No, she won't so come on," Neji said as he and Tenten dragged Naruto to the Hokage tower.

* * *

On the other side of Konoha, a generic-looking ninja was making his way to the hospital. He was taking a break from drawing so he did what he supposed was the best thing to do now. Ruin Ugly's day. It was a pretty good plan to not be bored, for him anyway.

Then, he heard Naruto's loud scream for ramen. 'So Dickless is back, eh? Now I could pester the two of them,' he thought as he smirked and continued walking to the hospital where Sakura's post was.

He walked up to where Sakura's post was but he noticed that she wasn't there. He wondered why so he asked the nurse stationed near Sakura's post. "Hey, where's Ugly? I thought she was supposed to be here today," he asked the nurse.

The nurse who obviously had a crush on him blushed. "Umm… They told me that Sakura-san was brought here. They said that she collapsed. She's in room 214," the nurse timidly replied. Then, Sai went on his way to where Ugly, as he calls Sakura, was.

Sakura was just thinking about all the things that happened. Then, she heard the door to the room she was in open. Her eyes widened slightly but she made sure that her shock didn't show. "Go away you bastard!!!" she angrily said her back still facing the door.

"Woah, you don't have to be so angry, Ugly. You're turning even uglier by the second you know," Sai said. He had no idea what she was angry about.

"Sai?" Sakura asked as she turned to see Sai making his way towards the bed. Then, paranoia striked her senses. She sat up and went on her stance. "Don't think I'll believe it's Sai you bastard," she said as she glared at 'Sai'.

Sai sweatdropped at his teammate's behavior. "Okay I don't know who the hell the bastard you're talking about is. Anyway, I'll just come back tomorrow if you're still here. You should go back to sleep, Ugly," Sai said simply before walking out of the room. Oh well, maybe he could just go to where Dickless is.

Sakura stayed rooted to sitting up. She was in a trance for about five minutes before she realized that Sai was already gone. Then, when she finally snapped back to reality, she collapsed in her bed. Her mind still clouded with so many thoughts and her inner self suddenly disappearing.

* * *

"BAACHAN!!!" Naruto yelled as they entered the Hokage's office.

"Don't call me that, you brat!!!" Tsunade answered, an anime-vein appearing on her forehead. Neji and Tenten just sighed at the two. Then, Tsunade got formal. "What happened at the mission?" she asked.

"The escort mission for the daimyo's daughter was alright. We didn't meet any trouble in the way," Neji replied as he was the team leader.

"Very well, Tenten, Neji you're dismissed. Naruto I have something to tell you," Tsunade said as Tenten and Neji went out of the office shooting meaningful glances at Naruto.

Naruto, seeing that Tsunade was serious, quieted. "What is it?" he asked.

"I don't think you'll believe me if I told you this but…"

* * *

Sasuke went on his way towards his former home, the Uchiha Manor. Memories of his childhood flashed before his eyes. He remembered the times when Itachi helped him train. The time when Itachi had an argument with the elder Uchihas, the time Itachi was accused of being the one to kill Shisui, the time when he found all of the clan killed by his brother.

He was surprised to see that the whole estate was still intact. He thought that some people would have been living there but it still stayed the same. Nothing changed except the fact that he was now the only remaining Uchiha in the world, aside from Tobi of course but he doesn't know that yet.

He went on his way towards his former home. He then made his way to his former room. His footsteps echoed as he made his way there. As he opened the door to his former room, another memory flashed in his mind.

The memory where he saw his parents dead and Itachi was there staring blankly at them. He shook the memory off as he went to his former closet and organized his things. After all, his brother was already dead. He already avenged the clan.

Unknown to him, Kakashi was watching him from not far. Observing every move he was making. Kakashi saw that the memories of the clan still bugged him but Kakashi knew that he could do nothing. He sighed before leaving Sasuke alone to contemplate on his thoughts.

* * *

"Sakura-chan is confined in the hospital? What happened?" Naruto asked as worry creased his forehead.

"She's just in a state of shock and fatigue that's all," Tsunade said. She still hadn't told Naruto the big news. She knew that the boy would be rampaging to where Sasuke was if she told him that Sasuke already came back. But Naruto was bound to know anyway.

"Shock?" Naruto asked. Why would Sakura be shocked of something?

"Naruto…" Tsunade started. "Sasuke's back," she said. Now she just had to wait for the boy to explode.

"Huh?" was all that Naruto could say. Then, his mind (oh yeah, it's not that hollow now) processed the information that Tsunade had told him.

Three…

Two…

One…

"HE"S BACK?!?!" Naruto yelled. He just couldn't believe that the bastard would return home willingly.

"Sheesh… You don't have to be that loud," Tsunade said as she rubbed her ears. She couldn't believe that this boy could be so loud. "Oh and you're not-" she said but then she noticed that the boy was already gone. She sighed. The headaches this boy could give her. 'Some sake would be nice now,' she thought as she stared at where Naruto was standing a few seconds ago.

* * *

A/N: 

Thank God this is already done!!! Anyway, I was kind of angry at myself for not showing Naruto until now. But here it is!!! Oh, I also threw Sai in but I don't know if I did his character right. I don't have any access to the manga or the latest episode of Shippuuden so please bear with me… ToT Anyway, please review!!! Hope you like it!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!


	6. The Reunion of the Two Best Friends

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to a new chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thanks to all the readers and reviewers!!! It's a bit rushed but please bear with me!!! Hope you'll enjoy reading!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… but now… Sasuke's locked up in my closet!!! (insert fan girly squeal) Anyway… on with the story!!!

* * *

Chapter 6: **The Reunion of the Two Best Friends**

Naruto was running really fast through the streets of Konoha. Heck, he even forgot to visit Sakura first. He'll just have to make it up to her later. But now, he really had to meet the bastard. He had the urge to punch him so hard that he'll be thrown all the way to Suna. But he knew that that is what Sakura will do.

Naruto dashed his way to Sasuke's apartment. When he got there, he didn't even bother to knock but kicked the door pretty hard that the door was now off its hinges. But then, all that met him was emptiness and silence. Naruto growled inwardly before dashing through the streets again.

Naruto had a shrewd idea where he could find Sasuke but of course, after all that happened, it seems impossible to find him there. But still, he dashed his way there. It wouldn't hurt to try right?

He ran his way towards the Uchiha Manor. He stopped when he saw the Uchiha complex. Only silence met him when he entered but he knew that silence always filled this place. After what had happened, of course nobody would enter this place because they were scared to meet all those spirits of the killed Uchihas.

* * *

It was really disturbing to enter but of course he had to, if he really wanted to meet teme that is. Which of course he does, it had been a long time since he saw him. Their last fight only made it worse because after that, Tsunade didn't allow them to look for Sasuke anymore.

It was the worst case scenario for him, Sakura and Kakashi seeing that Sasuke's still marching on oblivion when he knew that he could die in the process of fighting Itachi. He even tried harassing the baachan just to allow them to continue looking on Sasuke but she answered them loud and clear with a big, fat no.

After that little encounter with Sasuke, if you could call that little, Tsunade started sending him, Sakura and Kakashi in different missions so that we'll divert our attention to the mission instead. But of course, that didn't work. They were still worried sick about Sasuke. Even if he did do all those things, he will still be their teammate. Sasuke will still be his best friend and brother no matter what.

Naruto saw the Uchiha Manor. He went his way there. He swallowed before knocking. No answer. Now, he knocked even more persistent. Still no answer this bastard is really testing his patient. Now he pounded the door hard.

"Hey TEME!!! Are you there?!?" Naruto yelled as he continued pounding the door.

* * *

On his room, Sasuke sat on his bed. He had an unreadable expression. He seems to be too deep in his train thought to not even notice Naruto's continued yelling and pounding outside. Then, when he finally noticed Naruto's yelling and pounding, he scowled and slowly made his way towards the door. Then, he opened the door to find an irate Naruto outside.

"TEME!!!" Naruto yelled as he lifted Sasuke's collar and pushed him hard to the wall.

"Dobe," Sasuke simply said. He saw that Naruto was really angry. Who wouldn't? Especially if it was your best friend who tried to kill you not only once but even four times.

Sasuke was already expecting Naruto to punch him but what he didn't expect is Naruto to lower him down. He knew that the dobe was really angry so why? Hell, even Sakura punched him although it wasn't really directed to him, at first anyway.

Naruto must have seen the confused look on his eyes in which Naruto just grinned. "Come on," Naruto said. "Let's go to Ichiraku. I'm hungry anyway. It's on me," Naruto added as he went out of the Manor. Sasuke just followed Naruto. He closed the door but didn't lock it since he was prohibited to do that.

* * *

The two best friends walked in silence as they went to Ichiraku. Many villagers who saw Sasuke glared daggers at him while some whispered something to the others. Naruto seemed to notice this but paid them no heed. Wow, it must really be a scandal now. The monster and the traitor together, the villagers will surely love to make a big fuss about this. Sasuke also noticed it but like what Naruto did, he ignored them. He doesn't give a damn as to what the villagers think about him anyway.

They approached Ichiraku. Naruto sat on his favorite stool and Sasuke sat beside him. Sasuke still had no idea what is on Naruto's mind right now.

"What can I serve you boys?" Teuchi asked. Then, his eyes fell on Sasuke. "Oh and welcome back Uchiha-san," he added.

"Hn," was all that Sasuke replied.

"Be nice you teme," naruto snapped. Then he turned to Teuchi. "One miso ramen please!!! Hey, teme what's your order?"

"Same," Sasuke said.

"Two miso ramen coming up!!!" Teuchi said as he cooked the ramen of the two. Ayame who was also there helping his father seemed to notice that Sasuke was pretty quiet. Even more quiet than before.

"So… Why'd you bring me here?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Sasuke," Naruto said sternly. "We're teammates remember? We're also friends so what's wrong with this?" he asked.

"Weren't you angry with me just a while ago?" Sasuke asked. "And now here we are and you're even paying for my ramen."

Ayame and Teuchi could only listen to the two best friends. They knew they couldn't interfere so they just stayed quiet.

Naruto grinned as he looked at Sasuke. "Sasuke, I understood why you did that. I didn't like your decision but I knew that I couldn't do anything. At least, he's already dead and you're now back here," Naruto said as Teuchi served them their ramen. "Itadakimasu!!!" Naruto said as he ate his ramen. Sasuke ate quietly still contemplating his thoughts and what the dobe just said.

From not so far, Sai stood just watching the two best friends eat their ramen. He wanted to join them but decided against it. After all, they still had to repair those bonds between them. 'I'll just leave them alone for a while,' Sai thought as he walked away going back to his apartment to draw again.

* * *

A/N:

Thank God I finished it already!!! As of now, I am officially in panic mode. Why? Well, we had to do that stupid Adopt-A-Country corner. I know stupid name. But if we won't win first place in that contest then we'll flunk our project in Social Studies… which is bad… The country assigned to us is Macedonia… The first thing that came to my mind when they told me was: 'Is Macedonia even a country?' I know stupid question. Of course it is a country because the contest is Adopt-A-COUNTRY after all… And I also have this classmate of mine… She is always the one who organizes what we're gonna do with this kind of contests… She's really good at it honestly… Our class always wins first, second or third place because of her… but she's really bossy and she has this superiority complex. I just hope no classmate of mine is reading this because then I'll surely be decapitated… Well, half of the class seems to dislike her while some seem to be afraid of her… Why am I telling you this? Well, she told us that we're gonna work on the stupid corner on Thursday and Friday which would cut my time for writing a new chapter so I posted a new one now till I could. I'm really sorry!!! But this will just have to suffice… Please still review!!! Hope you enjoyed reading!!! I'll try to do a new chapter when I come back tomorrow from the province… Ja ne!!!


	7. The Way it Used to Be

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the seventh chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thanks to all the readers and reviewers!!! Sorry if I wasn't able to update yesterday but I'm just not in the mood to write that's why now… this is going to be a double update!!! YAY!!! I'll just update the other one later… Sorry for the mistakes last time but I was really on a hurry… Please read and review!!! Come on people… Review even if it's only a one liner…It will be highly appreciated… I need some motivation you know… Anyway… hope you'll enjoy reading!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… What more could I say? But I still have Sasuke locked up in my closet!!! YAY!!!

* * *

Chapter 7: **The Way it Used to Be**

_"Don't leave! If you do, I'll scream!" she threatened. But he disappeared with lightning speed._

_Sakura's eyes widened as she felt his presence behind her. She knew it was him. He was behind her, and time seemed to stop. Her breathe caught and he parted his lips._

_"Sakura..." he said her name with gentleness. Sakura's heart sped as he spoke, hearing his deep, but soft voice close to her. "...Thank you."_

_Sakura's eyes widened a bit. Sakura felt a hit to her neck and slipped into unconsciousness slowly. 'Sasuke-kun...' she whispered his name in her mind and collapsed._

Sakura woke up with beads of sweat in her forehead. 'Why do I keep on dreaming that? It's like happening again and again. I'm getting sick of it. The first time's already bad enough,' she thought as she sat up. Then, she pulled all the tubes (whatever you call them) connected to her wrist ad went out through the window.

Then, a nurse went inside to check on her but noticed that she was gone. "Sakura-san?" the nurse called. "Oh no. She's gone. She's not even well yet," the nurse said as she went out of the room shaking her head.

* * *

Sakura strolled around town. She was too deep in thought as she was walking. She was thinking of all the things that happened. She happened to pass by Ichiraku. There, she saw something that she didn't expected to happen so soon. She saw Naruto with Sasuke eating ramen.

Her jaw dropped. 'Okay so I wasn't expecting it to be this soon,' she thought. She just couldn't believe that Naruto will forgive Sasuke that easily. Of course Sasuke was one of Naruto's first bonds so why not?

Sakura eyed the two skeptically. 'MAYBE YOU SHOULD ALREADY FORGIVE HIM,' Inner Sakura said. 'But after all that he did?' Sakura thought. 'NARUTO ALREADY FORGAVE HIM SO WHY NOT YOU?'

'I guess you're right. He's still my friend after all,' she considered. 'IS HE ONLY A FRIEND TO YOU?' 'I already gave up on him the minute I saw him for the first time after he went to Sound,' she thought as she made her way to Naruto and Sasuke.

* * *

"Hi Naruto!!! Hi Sasuke!!!" Sakura greeted as she took a sit beside Naruto. "One miso ramen please," she said to Teuchi.

"One miso ramen coming up!!!" Teuchi said as he cooked Sakura's meal.

"Hey Sakura-chan," Naruto said as he continued to eat.

"Hey," was all that Sasuke could say as he looked at Sakura. He wondered why Sakura acted like nothing happened when she was just practically shouting at him before she collapsed.

"Ne Sakura-chan… Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?" Naruto asked.

"Nah… I'm fine. I just needed rest that's all," she said as Teuchi served her meal. "Itadakimasu!!!" she said before eating.

* * *

Kakashi just watched from afar what his former students were doing. He couldn't help but smile (even if no one sees it) as he saw that it was just like how it was before. They acted as if they're still a team even if many things already happened. 'Maybe I should join them,' he thought. 'Nah... I'll just join them later,' he thought as he went on his way to his apartment. 'Besides I still want to finish reading the new volume of Icha Icha,' he said as he went on his way to his apartment.

* * *

"Is something wrong Sasuke?" Sakura asked as she caught Sasuke looking at her again. "Is there something on my face?"

"No," Sasuke said as he quickly continued eating. He is just not used to seeing Sakura behave like that. She really matured a lot.

"Yeah teme. You've been looking at Sakura-chan since she came here," Naruto said as he continued eating his tenth bowl.

"Shut up dobe," Sasuke said as he glared at Naruto. Why can't the dobe stop talking even just for a minute?

"Teme…" Naruto growled. Then, a brilliant plan popped in Naruto's mind. He grinned evilly.

Sasuke noticed this and felt a chill run in his spine. He sensed that the dobe is thinking of something which will not do any good to him.

* * *

"Ne Sasuke… Sakura sure changed a lot, didn't she?" Naruto asked slyly.

'I don't like where this is heading,' Sasuke thought as Sakura eyed Naruto skeptically.

"I mean she's smarter... She's prettier… She's taller… She's stronger… Heck she's even sexier," Naruto continued. He knew that he is going to be beaten up seriously but it's worth a shot.

"Naruto…" Sakura growled as she cracked her fist. What the hell possessed him to say all those things?

"She even stopped fussing about you, right Sakura-chan?" Naruto said with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Don't you like her now, teme?" Naruto said.

"Hey!!!" Sakura yelled at Naruto as a she blushed. She turned to look at Sasuke.

Sasuke could only choke on his ramen. He couldn't believe what Naruto just asked. Then he blushed so small that it can't be seen by the naked eye. He avoided looking at Sakura as he glared on Naruto.

"I like her as a friend even before," Sasuke said still avoiding making an eye contact with Sakura. Then he continued eating.

Sakura's eyes softened at this. So Sasuke did consider her as a friend after all.

"Aww… Teme likes Sakura-chan," Naruto said. Sasuke and Sakura glared at Naruto.

* * *

"Naruto… I have a gift for you," Sakura said very sweetly which made Sasuke cringe.

"Really?" Naruto asked as his face brightened even more.

"Yeah… This," Sakura said as she punched Naruto so hard that he was thrown 400 meters from the ground.

"That would teach him a lesson," Sakura said as she continued to eat. Then she saw Sasuke looking at her. "What?"

"Remind me never to make you angry again," Sasuke said as he ate.

"Okay!!!" Sakura said as she smiled brightly at Sasuke. Then, she continued eating.

* * *

A/N: 

I wasn't expecting this chapter to be like this but oh well… Hope you enjoyed reading!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!


	8. The Unexpected Arrival

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the new chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! This is the second part of the double update… I wasn't able to update it yesterday because my computer won't start!!! Yeah it was checked yesterday and reformatted so now I'd be able to update again!!! Yay!!! But the sad part is that… my allowance was reduced!!! Now I don't have any money to buy that poster I've been dieing to buy!!! ToT Anyway… Hope you'll enjoy reading!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...

* * *

Chapter 8: **The Unexpected Arrival**

"So, I'll just see you around Sasuke… Ja ne," Sakura said as she stood up. Then she left the money on the table. "Oh, and welcome back," she said before she began walking away.

"Bye," Sasuke said as he looked at Sakura walking away.

"I would follow her if I were you," Teuchi mindlessly said as he prepared the noodles to be used.

"Hn," was all that Sasuke said as he stood up. Then, he left the money on the table. "Naruto's too," he said then began walking away.

"He sure likes Sakura-san," Ayame said. "He just can't admit it to himself." she said as she turned to her father.

"I hope he does soon," Teuchi said as he looked at Sasuke's retreating form. "Sakura already suffered too much," he said as he sighed.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she walked. Sure she was happy that Sasuke was now back. The said boy even considered her a friend!!! That sure was enough to make her day but she can't help but feel that tiny tinge of pain in her heart. She already promised herself that she'll only consider Sasuke a friend and nothing more but why does she feel disappointed?

'THAT'S BECAUSE YOU STILL LOVE HIM,' Inner Sakura said.

'But I can't love him anymore. Besides, he only considers me as a friend. I can't abuse that privilege,' she pointed out.

'YOU CAN'T DENY IT… YOU STILL LOVE HIM… EVEN WHEN HE LEFT AND TRIED TO KILL YOU STILL CONTINUED ON LOVING HIM,' Inner Sakura persisted.

'No I don't. I already gave up on him a long time ago,' she reasoned. 'He's just a friend to me now. I won't let myself fall for him again.'

'REALLY? THEN WHAT ABOUT NOW? YOU KNEW THAT WHEN HE SAID THAT HE LIKES YOU AS A FRIEND YOU BECAME DISAPPOINTED,' Inner Sakura replied.

'Maybe I was a little disappointed but at least even if I was pretty annoying to him back then he still considered me a friend. That's already enough for me to know that he cares,' she thought.

'IS IT REALLY ENOUGH FOR YOU?' Inner Sakura asked slyly.

'Yeah it is,' she snapped as she went on her way to her apartment.

'I JUST HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING,' Inner Sakura said.

'Don't worry I do,' she thought reassured that what she was doing was for the best of her friendship with Sasuke.

Then she entered her apartment to notice that something was not right. Well for one her lights won't turn on and she could feel a presence in her apartment. She narrowed her eyes and suddenly gasped. The presence went behind her in lightning speed. Then it hit her pressure point and went unconscious. The person caught her before she hit the floor.

"It's nice to see you again Sakura-chan," the person said as she carried Sakura away from her apartment. 'Now I'll be able to use you as bait so that I'll be able to catch him,' the person thought as he smiled evilly.

* * *

Sasuke felt that something bad was happening as he went on his way home. He sensed a presence that he knew very well but then he realized that something was off. It seems that there were two chakras circulating in the presence. His eyes widened in realization as he learned who it was. But how did that happen?

"Shit," he cursed as he dashed to where the presence was. This wasn't good he knew that he had to report this to the Hokage but there was no time. Then, he happened to pass by Naruto who was still unconscious because of what Sakura did to him. He kicked Naruto hard.

"Ow!!! Teme…" Naruto growled as he stood up but then he saw that Sasuke's eyes were full anger and yet at the same time he looked alarmed.

"Dobe, he's here," Sasuke said as he motioned Naruto to follow him.

"Who?" Naruto asked as he wondered who the hell Sasuke was talking about.

"Kabuto," Sasuke said as he dashed rooftop to rooftop. He growled inwardly as he felt that he was getting to where Kabuto was.

"That bastard," Naruto said as his eyes was filled with anger. "This isn't going to be good."

"Hn?" Sasuke asked as he turned to Naruto.

"Didn't you know? After what you did to Orochimaru he integrated his body with Orochimaru's remains," Naruto said as he looked at Sasuke quizzically. How the hell could Sasuke not know that?

"So that's why I felt his and Orochimaru's chakra combined together," Sasuke said. 'Why the hell would Kabuto think of integrating his body with Orochimaru? That bastard,' he thought as they continued on pursuing Kabuto's presence.

* * *

"What the-," Naruto said as his eyes widened. "Why would Kabuto be here?"

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked as they stopped.

"This is where Sakura-chan's apartment is," Naruto said as he grew worried.

Sasuke's eyes widened. Then he kicked Sakura's door open to find it completely empty.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto called as he went inside.

Sasuke silently cursed as he felt that Kabuto's presence disappeared. Then he followed Naruto inside.

"She isn't here," Sasuke said. "We have to report this to the Hokage," he added.

"But what if she didn't go home yet? What if she's just in the library or something?" Naruto asked.

"We still have to report this to the Hokage. Kabuto's up to something and I can feel it," he said as he dashed to the Hokage tower with Naruto on his tail.

'Sakura-chan… I hope you're okay,' Naruto thought as they went to the Hokage tower.

* * *

A/N: 

The chapter's done!!! Okay so I added Kabuto to the conflict because I wanted this story to have some thrill. I'm sorry if Sakura appeared weak but hey she's already growing ill. Sorry if Sasuke appeared OOC… Please don't sue me… Anyway… hope you still enjoyed reading!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!


	9. The Obliviousness and the Concern

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the new chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thanks to all the readers and reviewers!!! The reviews are so much appreciated!!! Hope you'll enjoy reading!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Please give me some ideas in what to write!!!

Disclaimer: I still haven't stolen Naruto from Kishimoto-san but I have a new mission!!! Mission Kidnap-Sai-kun-and-Lock-Him-in-my-Closet-with-Sasuke-kun now in progress!!! I am now also in love with Sai… He's so kawaii!!! Just like Sasuke… But I still love Sasuke more… Anyway... on with the story!!!

* * *

Chapter 9: **The Obliviousness and the Concern**

Sakura's eyes opened. She couldn't see well because of the darkness. When her eyes adjusted, it widened when she realized where she was. She also took note that she was in a sitting position with her hands tied to a wooden pole with chakra strings.

She remembered what happened. She tried to break out of the chakra strings but knew it was useless. Then she caught sight of somebody watching her. She can't see the face of the person but she knew that the presence was familiar.

The only odd thing was that it had two chakras combined into one. The said person moved closer to Sakura. Sakura gasped as she saw the face of the person.

"Kabuto?" Sakura asked. Kabuto stood in front of her. He had an odd appearance because the other half of his face was Orochimaru's. (To all those who don't know how Kabuto looked like after Sasuke beat Orochimaru, just look at it in the manga. Sorry but I don't know what chapter that is.)

"Aa. You're awake, Sakura-chan," Kabuto said. "You do know that even if you now have Tsunade's monstrous strength you still won't be able to break free, right?" he asked smirking evilly as he saw how Sakura struggled.

* * *

Sakura growled. "What the hell do you want with me?" Sakura snapped. 'I swear I'm going to punch him so hard even harder than Naruto's record of 400 meters from the ground,' she thought as she glared at Kabuto. 'HELL YEAH!!!' Inner Sakura shouted.

"Now now Sakura-chan, don't let that temper of yours get to you. I'm not going to hurt you. Don't worry," he said still smirking evilly. "I'll just have you here until he gets here and then I'm already going to free you," he added.

'He? Who's he?' she thought. "So you are going to use me as bait... but for who?" she asked. She really has no idea who Kabuto wants to get to them.

"Oh don't play naïve on me Sakura-chan," Kabuto said. "Don't tell me you don't know who he is," he added.

'Naïve?' Sakura thought. Then, her eyes widened. "What the hell do you want from Naruto?" she asked threateningly. 'I swear I'm going to kill this guy when I break free of this,' she thought as she tried to break the chakra strings.

'Don't tell me she doesn't know,' Kabuto thought. He can't believe how clueless this girl is. "On the contrary it's not Naruto," he said. "I don't have any intention on him but for… Sasuke," he added.

'Sasuke?' she thought. 'Then why the hell am I here?' she thought confused. "Sasuke? Then why do I have to be here?" she asked. She knew why Naruto would come here but Sasuke? Oh right he cares for her as a friend anyway…

* * *

"Don't you know?" Kabuto asked. "Sasuke's new objective in life… is YOU," he said.

A look of pure obliviousness took hold of her features. "WHAT?!?" Sakura asked/ yelled completely bewildered. 'WHAT THE HELL?!?' she thought.

"You've bewitched him, poisoned him, crawled under his skin like an insect," Kabuto said. He smirked as he saw the girl's shock and obliviousness. 'Never thought you were this discreet Sasuke,' he thought.

"You're… wrong…" she whispered. "He… I… Sasuke doesn't…" she stuttered. She was at a loss for words. 'Why the hell would Sasuke think of me like that?' she asked herself.

Kabuto sighed. "You really don't believe me, do you Sakura-chan?" he asked. This girl was completely clueless. 'Sasuke, why do you have to be in denial when it's already too obvious?' he thought.

"Of course not!!!" Sakura yelled. 'If this bastard is fooling with me then I am SO going to kick his ass later,' she thought as she glared on Kabuto. Sasuke couldn't and would NEVER think of her like that. Not in a thousand years. That's what she thinks anyway…

* * *

"TSUNADE-BAACHAN!!!" Naruto yelled as he and Sasuke barged inside the Hokage's office.

"WHAT?!?" Tsunade yelled. Naruto really is getting on her nerves. 'If this brat calls me that again I swear I'm going to demote him to genin,' she thought. Naruto just became chuunin a month ago after all.

Naruto slowly backed away in fear as he noticed how bad Tsunade's mood is. Sasuke just sweatdropped. Tsunade had so many piles of paperwork in front of her. Not to mention how unorganized the office in the wholeness looked. Papers were scattered everywhere.

"Sakura's kidnapped," Sasuke said urgently. They have no time to fool around. Sakura's life is at stake right now. 'That bastard…' Sasuke growled inwardly.

"What?" Tsunade's head bolted upward. Her forehead then creased worry. Sakura was like a daughter to her after all.

"Kabuto got her," Naruto growled as he glared at nobody in particular. 'I am going to kill him if he ever hurts Sakura-chan… ' he thought. Sakura was like a sister to her. He will not let anybody hurt her.

"How? There are Anbu scattered around the village. He can't possibly enter," she said her voice filled with confusion and worry. "Wasn't she supposed to be in the hospital?"

"Well she kind of… went home on her own…" Naruto said sheepishly. "She even ate at Ichiraku first," he added.

"That girl is so stubborn," Tsunade sighed. 'Sakura… I hope you're okay,' she thought. "How did you know that it was Kabuto who got her?" she asked the two.

"I felt his chakra. It was combined with Orochimaru's chakra," Sasuke said quietly.

"Teme dragged me to where Kabuto is. It was inside Sakura-chan's apartment," Naruto explained. "But when we got there, it was already empty."

* * *

"Alright you two, this is going to be an A-rank mission. I will assign this mission for you two and also Kakashi and Sai. I will call on them now. Just meet at the gate after half an hour," Tsunade said. "I know that you are on probation Sasuke but I have no choice. Besides, you are Sakura's friend so I'll let it slide for now but I'll have Kakashi monitor you, understand?" she asked.

"Yes," Naruto and Sasuke said.

"You two are dismissed," Tsunade said.

The two dashed outside the Hokage's office. Both of them were quiet on their way out. They were both thinking about Sakura and the ways they are going to kill Kabuto.

'Sakura-chan, just hang on in there,' Naruto thought as his features showed worry.

* * *

A/N: 

Sorry if I haven't updated much but I have no inspiration to write these days… And the last fic that I read was such a downer because Sasuke died in the end of that fic… and Naruto and Sakura were together in the end!!! Sorry to all the NaruSaku fans but I think Naruto and Sakura just treat each others as siblings… Another downer is that… we have classes on 30 and 31!!! WHAT THE HELL?!? They said that we'll start classes on Nov. 5 but no… because of that stupid Adopt-a-Country corner we have to go to school on 30 and 31… At least our cultural night is on Nov. 9!!! YAY!!! Oh sorry if I'm rambling too much… Just ignore my rambling people!!! Anyway… please review!!! Hope you enjoyed reading!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Do please give me some ideas on what to write… Also please give me some of the techniques Kabuto uses… Thank you so much!!! Ja ne!!!


	10. The Pinkhaired Kunoichi

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the tenth chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! YAY!!! I won't be able to continue this story without you… Thanks so much readers and reviewers!!! Hope all of you will continue supporting this fic!!! For this chapter, I hope you'll enjoy reading!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I still do not own Naruto… (insert sigh) I still haven't gotten Sai-kun!!! Don't worry Sai by the end of this chapter I'm going to shove in my closet so that you and Sasuke-kun will be trapped in there forever!!! (insert evil laugh) Just ignore me… On with the story!!!

* * *

Chapter 10: **The Pink-haired Kunoichi**

"Everybody ready?" Kakashi asked the three as they stood in front of the village's exit.

"Hai," Naruto, Sasuke and Sai said as they dashed out of Konoha.

All of them were apprehensive about Sakura. She did after all have a place in their hearts. Although Sasuke wouldn't admit it, Sakura is precious to him. He would not let Kabuto hurt Sakura and live to tell the tale.

He growled in frustration as they continued sprinting tree to tree. Sai seemed to notice this and couldn't help but have a fake smile on his face. Sasuke took note of this and glared at Sai.

"What are you smiling about?" he demanded. He stopped jumping and remained in the tree he was on as he glared at Sai.

Sai also stopped at a nearby tree as he looked at Sasuke the fake smile still visible on his face. Naruto and Kakashi who were ahead noticed this and also stopped from jumping to another tree.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked as he looked at Sasuke and Sai.

"Yeah, why the hell did you two stop? Sakura's in danger right now!!!" Naruto cried.

Sasuke and Sai paid no heed to the other two. They stared at each other for about five minutes. Sai was the first one to break out of their little staring contest.

"It's just amazing to see you like that when you were the one who hurt her in the first place," Sai said calmly the smile on his face now gone.

Sasuke was about to assail Sai when Kakashi suddenly put his hand in between the two. He was not going to have them fight like little children when Sakura was in great peril right now.

"Sai please don't say those remarks of yours and stop fake smiling and Sasuke please calm down and save that anger of yours for Kabuto," Kakashi said. "If you two won't stop acting like academy students then I'll leave you here to have your little tantrums while me and Naruto go to where Kabuto is and save Sakura," he threatened.

The two silenced and Naruto even gaped at Kakashi for this was the first time he used that kind of voice to them. Kakashi then started leaping, followed by Naruto and lastly by the two. Sasuke and Sai were silent all the way. They did not gaze at each other again after that but nevertheless busied themselves by processing the thoughts running in their heads.

* * *

"Don't you think it's too early to send Sasuke on a mission, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked with Tonton in her hands as she watched the Hokage do her mound of paperwork.

Tsunade sighed before speaking. "I know that it's really early to send him on one but I have no other choice. Besides, I know that Naruto, Kakashi and Sai are there to make sure he doesn't do anything bad or stupid for that matter," she said.

"I just hope you're right," Shizune said. "What do you think will Kabuto do with Sakura-chan?" she asked as she eyed the Hokage.

Tsunade's eyes lifted from the paperwork she was doing and into Shizune's eyes. "I really don't know but I hope that he hasn't done anything bad to her or else. I'll make sure he dies the longest and most brutal way even if it is the last thing I do before I die," she said.

She will not let Sakura endure because of Kabuto. Sakura has been like a daughter to her and she will not let anybody hurt her no matter what. Even if she did act strict on Sakura, she always cared for the girl just as much as how she cares for Naruto although she doesn't seem to.

"I hope Sakura-chan's alright," Shizune said breaking her gaze from the Hokage.

"Yeah, me too," Tsunade whispered as she went back to her paperwork. 'Naruto, please bring Sakura back. I think I won't be able to handle it if I lose somebody dear to me ever again,' she thought as she stared at the view out of her window.

* * *

"What the hell are you still doing here?!?" Sakura asked her voice clearly evident of irritation and anger. 'GO AWAY YOU BASTARD!!!' Inner Sakura yelled.

"You do know your place here, don't you Sakura-chan?" Kabuto asked his voice now laced with impatience. "I could kill you now if I want to, you know," he added as he stared at the angry kunoichi.

"Just leave me alone, OKAY?!?" Sakura screeched. Inner Sakura was now getting the best of her. She needed some time to think about what the bastard just told her.

Kabuto threw a kunai at her. It scratched her shoulder that made her wince because of the pain. Sakura couldn't help but glare at the bastard known as Kabuto. Kabuto just stared at her. Then Kabuto turned to go away.

"Remember your place, Sakura-chan," he said as he walked away. He felt Sakura's glare on his back.

"Bastard," Sakura hissed as she healed herself. Being a medic-nin did have many benefits. Now that the medic-nin was gone, she now had some time to think over all the things that he said.

Her thoughts lingered on the raven-haired boy that was once her love interest. She just couldn't believe what the medic-nin had unveiled to her. Sasuke already made it clear that he was not interested on her. The night of his departure was the most solid evidence of that. Now that she thought about it, what did Sasuke mean by 'thank you' anyway?

She sighed as she began to think of explanations why he would thank her. Was it because she was a fan girl? Heck no, Sasuke already made that crystal clear. Was it because she cared for him? Maybe. Was it because she had helped him sometimes? Sure. Was it because she offered him support on his goal to kill his brother? Possibly. Was it because she loved him back then? Apparently, she had no answer to that one yet.

Did the boy really love her? Why? Millions of thoughts were running through her head when she suddenly heard a lion's roar outside. Her head snapped away from the thoughts as she began to pay attention on what was happening outside. She sensed four familiar chakras along with Kabuto's. Her eyes widened as she recognized who those chakras belong to.

'Naruto? Kakashi-sensei? Sai? Sasuke?' she thought. Then it hit her. _Sasuke…_ 'Shit!!! Why the hell is Sasuke in here?!? Kabuto's after him!!! What do I do?!?' Sakura panicked as she thought of ways on how she would alert them of Kabuto's plan especially Sasuke.

Then an idea struck Sakura. Using her super strength, she began pulling the wooden pole rooted to the ground. "SHANNARO!!!" she yelled as she pulled the pole out. Then, she looked around and saw a window.

She ran as fast as she can to go there which was proving to be difficult because of the pole still fastened to her hands. She cursed as she stumbled her way to the window. She saw that she was on the second floor and that Kabuto and the others were outside fighting. Without thinking, she jumped out of the window breaking the wall where the window was attached to along with the pole.

She smirked as she jumped downwards. The only problem now was the strings. She did not need to worry bout it that much anymore as she saw her teammates and friends fighting against Kabuto. The fight stopped as all of the shinobis looked at Sakura, her feet making contact with the ground.

* * *

A/N: 

First of all, thanks so much for the reviews… I'll try to make these chapters more in-depth and longer for all of you but please don't expect me to do it right away because it's kind of hard for me to do that… I also told you readers that I will be going to class today but truth be told I did not go to class… WAHAHA!!! Only a few of my classmates did go to school anyway… And our cultural night was moved on Nov. 10!!! I'm sorry if this chapter is not good enough but I'm just not in my writing mode and we also have a family problem right now… So I don't give a damn about it that much but I'm still involved one way or the other… (insert sigh) Well, enough about my life… Please review!!! You're reviews motivate me to continue this fic, y'know… Hope you enjoyed reading!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!


	11. The Unidentified Feelings

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the eleventh chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thanks to all the readers and reviewers!!! I love all of yah!!! Hope you guys enjoy reading!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Please read my new fic called **Kismet of Two Lovers**!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… but now I have Sasuke and Sai trapped it my closet and they can't get out!!! (insert evil laugh)

* * *

Chapter 11: **The Unidentified Feelings**

"So what did I miss?" Sakura asked as she smirked at her teammates and friends. Then she turned to Kabuto who glared at her.

"Bitch," Kabuto muttered under his breath as he glared at Sakura.

"SAKURA-CHAN!!!" Naruto yelled and then flashed a foxy grin at her. He was glad that Sakura was alright.

"Nothing at all," Kakashi said. Then, he noticed the chakra strings that are still entwined in Sakura's hands. He bent over and used a kunai to cut the strings.

"Knew an old hag like you would be alright," Sai said showing his fake smile as he looked at Sakura. Sasuke could only glare at him.

"Oh shut up Sai," Sakura said as she rubbed her wrists where the strings were before. She also noticed the glare Sasuke shot at Sai. Her eyes slightly widened at this. Kabuto saw this and chuckled slightly.

Sakura and the others turned at Kabuto. Kabuto smirked evilly at them especially at Sasuke and Sakura.

"Aa. It seems that what I said did make an effect on you, Sakura-chan," he said as he chuckled. Sasuke glared at Kabuto as Naruto and the others looked quizzically at Sakura whose eyes widened.

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want Sasuke to think that she was still living her fantasy of Sasuke and her being together. She did what she thought was the most practical thing to do; she gathered her chakra in her right hand. Then, using her monstrous strength, she punched the ground hard making it break. It would be enough for a distraction she noted.

The ground burst from the impact and rocks and dust flew everywhere and all that Kabuto could do was jump. He made some hand seals before he spoke. "Remember what I told you, Sakura-chan. And I will come back," he said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Bullshit," Sakura cursed as she glared at where Kabuto was. The others were still looking at Sakura curiously. "What?" she asked as she turned to them.

"Ne Sakura-chan what did Kabuto teel you anyway?" Naruto asked. He was curious at how his friend reacted as she heard Kabuto's words.

Sakura carefully thought about it before replying. "He said that he was going to kill Sasuke," she said as she turned to gaze at Sasuke. She didn't tell them the part where Kabuto told her that Sasuke was interested with her. She still couldn't believe it and Sasuke might think that she was merely bluffing.

Naruto and the others also turned to look at Sasuke. Sasuke's expression didn't seem to change. He already knew that Kabuto was coming for him. He just didn't know why he kidnapped Sakura. He already had an idea but of course he pushed that thought to the very back of his mind.

He considered for a second before voicing out some of his thoughts. "Did he even tell you why he took you?" he asked in a monotonous voice.

"No," Sakura quickly said. She had no choice but to lie and hope that Sasuke wouldn't notice. She tensed as she felt Sasuke's prolonged stare on her.

"Hn," was all that Sasuke said before turning away from Sakura.

"Come on now. We have to report this to the Hokage," Kakashi said as he leapt into a tree. The others nodded and also followed his example.

* * *

They had been traveling for an hour now. Kakashi went closer to Sakura until he was beside her. "I know you're hiding something," he said quietly and calmly not looking at Sakura. 

Sakura sighed before speaking. "I am," she said truthfully. It was Kakashi after all and Kakashi seems to know everything anyway.

Kakashi gave Sakura a brief glance before shaking his head slightly. "I just hope that what you are doing is for the best," he said before speeding up so that he was already ahead.

Sakura smiled slightly before replying quietly. "It is, Kakashi-sensei," she said.

Sasuke was still watching Sakura intently from behind. He knew that she was not telling everything. He also knew that he couldn't force her to tell everything because that would just bring unwanted questions like why he would care and some other stuff.

Sai who was watching Sasuke from the corner of his eyes smirked slightly. Sasuke noticed this and his eyes started to twitch which only made Sai smirk wider. Sasuke was about to say something at Sai but was interrupted by Naruto's sudden outburst.

"I'M HUNGRY!!!" Naruto yelled as his stomach grumbled. Sakura and Kakashi turned to Naruto with a sweatdrop.

"Dobe," Sasuke said as he shook his head momentarily forgetting Sai.

"Dickless," was all Sai could as he smirked at Sasuke again.

Kakashi then turned at Sai who was smirking at Sasuke whose eyes were twitching. Kakashi shook his head at the two shinobis. Sai really could annoy Sasuke sometimes even if they hadn't known each other that long.

"Hey you two," Kakashi called as Naruto and Sakura turned to Sai and Sasuke. "Stop doing that," he said as he turned away and continued leaping.

Naruto and Sakura shoot questioning glances at the two but Sasuke didn't pay any attention to them and continued to glare at Sai who was still smirking at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you TWO?!?" Naruto yelled. Sakura hit Naruto in the head hard for causing too much noise. "OW! You don't have to hit me that hard Sakura-chan," Naruto said.

"That serves you right," she said then turned to the two. "Yeah, what IS wrong with you two anyway?"

"Hn," Sasuke said as he stopped glaring at Sai and just looked forward avoiding everybody's gaze.

"What he said," Sai calmly said as the smirk on his face now disappeared. Sakura could only shook her head as she turned away from the two.

* * *

"Uchiha?" Sai called once Sakura and the others attention were not on them anymore. 

"Hn?" Sasuke said glancing at Sai.

"I read in a book that when a certain person likes a certain someone they stare at him or her all the time," Sai said waiting for the Uchiha's reaction.

Sasuke cocked his eyebrows at what Sai just said. "And you're telling me this why?" he asked looking at Sai.

"Uchiha do you like Hag over there?" he asked as he pointedly looked at Sakura who was also busy with her own thoughts.

Sasuke didn't know how to respond so he just ignored the question completely and hoped that this bastard wouldn't pry anymore.

"I take your silence as a yes," Sai said calmly. "You'd better be careful Uchiha. I won't tolerate you hurting her more then you already have," he added as he started speeding up.

'Was that supposed to be a threat?' Deciding to think about it later, he continued on leaping to another tree.

* * *

A/N: 

Another chapter's done!!! YAY!!! Hope you enjoyed reading!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Sorry if I updated longer but I already made up my mind to continue my discontinued fic… It's entitled **Kismet of Two Lovers**… Hope you'll also like it too… Ja ne!!!


	12. The Denial and the Premonition

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thanks to all the readers and reviewers!!! Oh and LuluChild, of course you could borrow them… Anyway… I am really and I mean REALLY sorry for not updating sooner but I just have my worst case of writer's block and laziness… I hope you won't sue me though… Please read and review!!! Hope you'll like this chapter!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto... If I do then Itachi would have been killed right away along with Orochimaru… Please don't kill me Itachi and Orochimaru fans!!! Anyway… on with the story!!!

* * *

Chapter 12: **The Denial and the Premonition **

"We're here," Kakashi said as they made their way to the Konoha gates four hours later.

"YOSH!!! RAMEN!!!" Naruto yelled as he dashed his way inside the village and to Ichiraku.

"Oh no you don't," Sakura said as she punched Naruto to prevent him from running away. The other shinobis just sweatdropped at the two.

"Ow Sakura-chan!!! Why do you always have to do that?!?" Naruto asked as he shed some anime tears.

"Dobe," Sasuke scoffed as he watched Naruto and Sakura.

"Serves you right, Naruto," Sakura said as she dragged the crying Naruto towards the Hokage tower with the rest of the team on her tail.

"Dickless, you're disgracing the name of guys around here," Sai muttered as he followed the other shinobis to the Hokage tower.

* * *

"Enter," Tsunade said as she heard a knock from the door of her office. The door opened to reveal a fake crying Naruto, a pissed off Sakura along with Kakashi, Sasuke and Sai who were sweatdropping.

"Thank Kami-sama you're okay," Tsunade said as she looked at Sakura. "I assume that Naruto did something again?" she asked as Sakura let go of Naruto.

"Arigatou shishou," Sakura said to Tsunade as she smiled. She totally ignored the question about Naruto.

"BAA-CHAN!!! Hurry up!!! I'm already hungry!!!" Naruto yelled breaking the scene between Sakura and Tsunade. Then, he noticed the dark aura being emitted both by Sakura and Tsunade so he took a step backward although it would prove to be quite useless.

"Anyway, Sakura, Sai, Sasuke and Naruto, you may now leave. Kakashi will be the one to give the mission report," Tsunade said dismissing the shinobis except for Kakashi.

"Hey, you three want to eat ramen?" Naruto asked as they went out of the office of the Hokage.

"I've had enough ramen so I think I'll just pass. Ja," Sai said as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"How about you two?" Naruto asked as he turned to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Gomen Naruto but I still have something to do. Ja," Sakura said as she also disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Yeah me too dobe," Sasuke said also disappearing.

"Oh well. Maybe I'll just take Hinata-chan with me!!!" Naruto said running away to find poor Hinata and force her to eat ramen with him. Although it wouldn't be forced much, would it?

* * *

Sakura sighed for the fifth time this afternoon as she sat on her bedroom. She was really confused on how Sasuke feels about her. She just couldn't accept what Kabuto told her. It was just TOO impossible to happen. That's what she thought anyway…

'JUST THINK ABOUT IT…" Inner Sakura persisted also for the fifth time.

'But… Sasuke would never think of me like _that_… He's just too cold to be like that,' Sakura argued with her inner self.

'WHY DON'T YOU ASK HIM THEN? IT WON'T HURT TO TRY," Inner Sakura said.

"I don't want him to think that I still love him,' she reasoned. 'I want him to know that I already accepted the fact that I am only a _friend_ to him and nothing more,' she added.

'BUT STILL… YOU CAN'T HIDE THIS FOREVER… YOU'LL JUST CRACK IF YOU DON'T ASK HIM SOON,' her inner said.

'But I don't want to,' she claimed as she started pacing back and forth of her room.

'YOU HAVE NO CHOICE ANYWAY… WHAT IF KABUTO KIDNAPS YOU AGAIN?' her inner asked.

'Then so be it. I don't want him involved. I'll just get my hopes too high again,' she answered.

Then, suddenly her vision blurred and she felt a jolt to her stomach. She rushed into the bathroom where she vomited. Her eyes were widened by shock and puzzlement as she some blood. She didn't know what was happening to her.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before stumbling to her bedroom. She was panicking not only because of Sasuke but also because of what was happening to her. She had to see Tsunade quickly. It's not normal to cough up blood just like that. She then made her way to the Hokage tower so that she could ask Tsunade about her condition.

Not far away, Sasuke was watching Sakura. Technically, it's called stalking but of course he wouldn't call it that because that would be a big blow to his ego. He noticed Sakura scurried out of her room. He was confused. Then, he noticed her come back. He saw that she was panicking which bewildered him more. She then made her way out of her house and into the Hokage tower. He followed her discreetly seeing that she was worried about something.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama," Sakura said as she barged into the office. Tsunade who saw that Sakura was really anxious then turned serious.

"Why? What's wrong?" she asked also worried about her student.

"Something is happening to me," Sakura said. "Please check what's wrong with me," she added.

"But you're a medic-nin… Surely you have thought it out already," Tsunade said.

"I don't know what it is. But I noticed some black and blue spots in some parts of my body. I also paled a little and I puked just now with blood in it. I have also been fainting a lot lately," she said.

"Come. Let me examine you," Tsunade said as she beckoned Sakura to follow her.

"Hai," Sakura said following her mentor.

Sasuke having heard it all was also bothered. Sakura wouldn't just barge in the office of the Hokage and randomly ask the Hokage to examine her. She was much more than that. This must really be serious if she already asked her sensei's help.

'What the hell is happening? Is Sakura sick?' Sasuke thought. Millions of thought rise in his head about her. He was confused about the reason of Sakura being sick. She was a pretty strong girl and she wouldn't be taken down that easily.

'Sakura please be alright,' Sasuke thought as he tried following Sakura but then decided against it seeing that the Hokage would just be angry at him and maybe not continue on reinstating him as a Konoha shinobi. He then decided to find Naruto and tell him what was happening.

* * *

A/N: 

Another chapter done!!! I'm sorry for the long wait… This chapter is the introduction to Sakura's illness by the way… Next chapter would be when they will know that she is sick… Anyway… hope you liked it!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!


	13. The Bad News and the New Determination

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Sorry if the previous chapter was rushed… (scratches head) I only had two to three hours time to think and type it out… I usually spend a whole day in doing a chapter but seeing that I haven't updated last weekend, I had to rush it last Monday night… Sorry again… Anyway… Thanks to all the readers and reviewers!!! Hope you'll like this chapter!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: The day I will own Naruto is the day Karin will hate Sasuke… In short… NEVER…

* * *

Chapter 13: **The Bad News and the New Determination**

It had been over an hour after the Hokage examined Sakura. Tsunade had been gone after that and just ordered Sakura to stay in the Hokage's office. Sakura was very anxious about the result. She walked back and forth across the office waiting for the result. Suddenly, Tsunade entered the office. Sakura came to a halt and looked at her sensei with worried eyes. She noticed that her master was as impassive as ever.

"Sakura…" Tsunade said as she walked towards her desk and took a seat. Sakura swallowed the lump forming on her throat before speaking.

"H-hai?" she stuttered as she looked directly into Tsunade's eyes. She noticed that Tsunade had a somewhat sad and worried gleam in her eyes.

Tsunade sighed before speaking. "Sakura you have to surrender your forehead protector to me now. You are no longer a shinobi of this village," she said in a monotonous voice but if you would be observant enough you'll notice the sad tone it had.

Sakura looked confused at the same time alarmed. This was not what she was expecting to happen. If her master wanted her to quit being a ninja then whatever was happening to her body must be pretty serious.

"But why?" she asked. She was now scared. She would not leave her job as a ninja. She just couldn't. She didn't want to be weak again. That was the reason why she entered this life and did not remain as a normal citizen like the rest of her family.

"You're sick, Sakura. You have leukemia," Tsunade answered her eyes turning glassy. She couldn't accept the fact that Sakura, who was already like a daughter to her, would be given such illness.

Sakura was now scared. Why the hell would she, of all the people, suddenly have leukemia? As far as she knew, nobody in her family _ever_ had that sickness so it would be impossible for her to get it from her parents. It just didn't seem right.

"Why me?!?" she cried tears already forming in her emerald orbs. "How did I get that? It's impossible," she said tears already falling down from her eyes and her whole body already shaking. Even if she tried to stop herself from crying, it would just be useless.

In a split second, Tsunade disappeared behind her desk and appeared in front of her hysterical student. She then hugged Sakura. She just couldn't bear seeing her make-believe daughter like that. Sakura didn't deserve any of this.

Sakura was shocked by the sudden embrace of her master but was also grateful. Right now, she had no one to turn to. She was afraid of what will happen to her. She cried her heart to her sensei who continued embracing her. She didn't know what would happen to her. She hated being weak in front of her master but right now, she just didn't care anymore. She knew that a ninja must know how to hide his or her emotions but fuck those rules.

"It's going to be alright," Tsunade said in a soft voice. "I'm going to make sure that you'll be cured in no time. I promise," she continued. 'I'm going to do the best I can. I'll cure you no matter what,' she thought as she continued comforting her student.

"Arigato, Tsunade-sensei," Sakura said as she looked at Tsunade, her tears no longer falling. She now felt better even if she knew that things were just heading for the worst. She knew that she could manage as long as there were people who would support her.

"You're welcome, Sakura-chan," Tsunade said as she smiled at her student. She saw the determined gleam in Sakura's eyes and was proud of it. She hadn't met a person so determined like her. She was just like Naruto.

* * *

"Where the hell is that dobe?" Sasuke wondered aloud as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop searching for the blonde ninja who was supposed to be his best friend.

Sasuke continued to scan the streets when a thought struck him. Naruto just asked not too long ago if he would like to eat ramen. He turned Naruto's offer down so that would mean that the dobe either went to Ichiraku by himself or dragged someone with him.

He continued jumping rooftop to rooftop until he arrived at the ramen stand. He was not disappointed as he saw the dobe sitting with the shy Hyuuga heiress, both of them eating ramen or in Naruto's case, slurping the ramen on his face.

"Dobe," Sasuke said as he jumped to where Naruto and Hinata where eating. "Hinata-san, you wouldn't mind if I borrow Naruto for a second, would you?" Sasuke asked as he turned to Hinata who was blushing.

"O-of course n-not, Sa-sasuke-san," Hinata stuttered as she started fidgeting her fingers.

"Wha-oh hey teme!!!" Naruto yelled as Sasuke dragged him away from his ramen. "What the hell was that all about?" he asked when they were already a good distance away from earshot.

"Naruto, listen," Sasuke said urgently making Naruto turn serious. "I think there's something wrong with Sakura. Just now, she asked the Hokage to examine her if she had some illness or something," he added a worried gleam in his eyes.

"Are you sure? How did you know this?" Naruto asked now holding a concerned look on his face.

"I'm positive," Sasuke answered ignoring Naruto's second question.

"But how did you know this? I mean you could just be joking," Naruto said now having both a worried and doubtful look. He knew that Sasuke would not joke about such serious matters but he just couldn't accept that Sakura is sick.

"I just know, okay?" Sasuke said as he scowled. He wouldn't let the dobe know, with that big mouth of his, that he had been following Sakura.

"Fine, no need to be touchy, teme. I'm sure that Sakura-chan's fine. She's a strong girl," Naruto said his voice filled with determination and yet Sasuke could still not miss the uncertainty underlying it.

He knew that Naruto was just saying that so they would not worry. He wanted to argue with the dobe but found it impractical because right now, he also needed some time to think some things over. He just hopes that Sakura would be alright.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama, I refuse to quit being a shinobi," Sakura said a few minutes after she had calmed down.

"But Sakura, you know that this would be quite hard. You're going to show more and more symptoms and at the same time you're going to become more and more weary than usual," Tsunade reasoned, she just couldn't let Sakura push her body past her limit. "I guarantee you that you'll be reinstated as a shinobi once you are fully cured," she added.

"There's no need, sensei. I'll be fine," Sakura said, her voice filled with determination. "I'll put myself under medical treatment but that doesn't mean that I'll stop being a ninja even if only for some time," she added as she looked directly into Tsunade's eyes.

Tsunade sighed before speaking. "Very well, if you would insist," Tsunade said her voice lacing with anxiousness. "I won't permit anybody to know of your condition. I'll still let you have your ninja privileges and all but I'll only send you in lighter missions from now on and you'll now be having lesser work in the hospital," she said.

Sakura just nodded. She was thankful that the Hokage trusted her to be able to handle herself even if she now has this sickness that would surely weaken her. She wouldn't let her master down after giving her this privilege.

"Also, I would like you to spend more time with Sasuke and Naruto, or even Sai, seeing that those three would make sure that you're okay," Tsunade added. She saw the uncertainty in Sakura's face. "Don't worry. I won't let them know of your condition, except maybe Kakashi," she said.

"Arigato, Tsunade-sama," Sakura said as she bowed her head.

"It's nothing, Sakura. And I want you to just stay at your house for the mean time at least until we start you're treatment," Tsunade said.

"Hai," Sakura said. "I won't let you down Tsunade-sama," she added as she smiled at her master.

Tsunade also smiled at her seeing how determined she was to fight this sickness. "You could now go home, Sakura," she said.

"Ja ne," Sakura said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

'I promise that I also won't let you down. I'll make sure that you'll be cured in no time, Sakura,' Tsunade thought as she stared where Sakura was seconds ago.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke were now hopping rooftop to rooftop towards the Hokage tower. Naruto had already finished eating his ramen and already dropped Hinata to the Hyuuga compound before both he and Sasuke went on their way to the tower. Both of them needed some answers and they needed them now. They wouldn't let themselves be clueless seeing that Sakura might be sick.

"Baa-chan!!! What the hell is happening to Sakura-chan?!?" Naruto yelled as both he and Sasuke barged inside the office of the Hokage. Sasuke just had to slap himself inwardly for telling the dobe too soon about the bit of information about Sakura.

"So Sasuke already told you, huh?" Tsunade asked as her eyes left the paperwork she was doing and looked at the shocked Uchiha. She knew that the Uchiha had been listening to her and Sakura-chan's conversation not too long ago.

"How did you know that I was listening?" Sasuke asked as he looked at Tsunade. He masked his chakra as he followed Sakura so it would be impossible to know he was there and he hid well so that no one would see him.

"I knew you'd be following Sakura," Tsunade answered. "There's no need for you two to worry. She's just tired from what just happened, that's all," she lied sounding unconcerned though she was already considering telling these two about Sakura's condition but she knew Sakura wouldn't approve of that.

"That's great to hear," Naruto said sounding relieved. Sasuke on the other hand, was doubtful about what the Hokage said.

Sasuke knew that the Hokage was hiding something and pondered whether or not he would voice his suspicions out. He glared at the Hokage before deciding not to question her now.

Tsunade just gave the boy an amused look although she was already worried to hell about Sakura. She wouldn't let these two know anything because if they did, then Sakura would just feel weak again. She respects her student's decision so she decided to keep Naruto and Sasuke in the dark. Sakura would let them know sooner or later anyway when she is ready.

"If you two would just ask me about Sakura's condition then you might as well already leave seeing that she's fine. All she needs is some rest, after all," Tsunade said dismissing the two.

Sasuke just gave the Hokage an 'I'll-let-you-of-the-hook-for-now' look before dragging Naruto outside.

Tsunade sighed once the two shinobi were already out of her office. 'I hope everything's going to be alright,' she thought before going back to her paperwork seeing that she had to finish it soon so she could do some research on how to best cure Sakura of her illness.

* * *

A/N: 

This chapter's done!!! Wow… This had been the longest chapter I've written EVER… Anyway… Hope you guys liked it!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!


	14. The Darkest Hour of Her Life

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thanks to all the readers and reviewers and all those who pm-ed me… I am so sorry for the LONG delay… See, my computer got some problems and I still have to fix it not to mention the amount of homework and exams that we have been getting for the past few weeks… Good thing it's a holiday today so I'm here at home and I could already type… Okay, now enough rambling… Please read and review!!! Hope you'll like this chapter!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… (sighs) And now… Sasuke and Sai escaped from my closet!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!! (runs around like a mad person)

* * *

Chapter 14: **The Darkest Hour of Her Life**

"Tsunade-sama, you called for me?" Kakashi asked as he stood in the Hokage's office, still reading the infamous Icha Icha series.

"Kakashi, this is a serious matter," Tsunade said sternly. "This is about Sakura," she added.

Kakashi stopped reading and began to put his book away. It was not everyday that he would see the Hokage this serious, especially if it was about Sakura. "What about her?" he asked looking directly into the Hokage's eyes. He took note the fact that they were glassy.

"Kakashi, I'm assigning an important mission to you. It will be a B-ranked mission. Right now, Sakura is sick. She has leukemia," Tsunade said her voice slightly wavering and her eyes turning even glassier. Then, she breathed deeply before continuing what she was saying. "I want you to watch over Sakura during missions. I also want you to make sure that nobody in her team aside from you would know. The same goes for all the other Konoha 12 ninjas," she said now in a calm voice.

"What about Gai and the others?" Kakashi asked worry now creasing his forehead because of worry but of course, it wouldn't be seen because of his forehead protector. "Would they know?"

"They will know. I will be telling them that anyway," she said.

"Umm… Tsunade-sama? Don't you think Sakura should stop going on missions already? I mean she's sick and all…" Kakashi said uneasily. This thought was bugging him. Why would the Hokage still send Sakura on missions when she is already sick?

Tsunade sighed. "I know that… But it's not my decision. It's Sakura's. I already asked her to stop being a shinobi for a while but she won't budge," she said. "She said that she won't stop no matter what. The best I could now was to send her on lighter missions and to lessen her job at the hospital," she added before sighing again. She was really frustrated about the girl's stubbornness.

Kakashi sweatdropped a little. He knew that Tsunade respected Sakura's decision but that was already out of the question. She was Hokage for Kami-sama's sake! "But you're Hokage right? Why wouldn't you just suspend Sakura from her ninja privileges?" he asked.

A hint of annoyance appeared on Tsunade's face. "I know I could do that… but Sakura's already vulnerable right now. If I'll do that to her then there's a possibility that she'll just run away or something," she reasoned.

Kakashi pondered about it for a second. Then he sighed in defeat. "You're right. She's just as stubborn as Naruto," Kakashi said. Sakura really was as stubborn as Naruto. The fox boy really did rub on her.

"Do you have any other questions?" Tsunade asked Kakashi. Kakashi just shook his head. "Very well, you're now dismissed. And Kakashi do take care of Sakura," Tsunade said worry written on her face.

Kakashi gave her a reassuring nod before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

Sakura was crying as she sat in the bottom of a tree in an unused training area. She knew that Tsunade told her to go home but right now, she didn't feel like going home. She had never felt so alone in her life aside from the event when Sasuke left Konoha. This was one of the darkest hours of her life.

She couldn't accept the fact that now that Sasuke already came back to Konoha, she was now the one who is in the verge of leaving. And not just leaving Konoha, but leaving the world. She cried harder at the thought of herself dieing. She knew that it was improper for a shinobi to be afraid of death seeing that safety was a luxury that they could not afford but this was an entirely different story.

She didn't want to die useless. She didn't want to die weak. She knew that there was always a possibility that she would die at an early age but she didn't expect to die not because of a battle but because of a sickness. She wanted to die serving the village.

She cursed herself for being so weak. She was always a nuisance even back then. Right now, when she already thought that she was strong enough, this illness then suddenly appears. Why does it have to be always her? Does Kami-sama hate her so much?

Right now, when she needed her inner self the most, was the time that it had gone missing. She needed somebody to encourage her to be strong and brave and that was what her inner was best at doing but why did she suddenly left? Why was everything around her against her? Was she really that bad to be punished like this?

With all those thoughts in her mind, she began to cry some more. She was so distracted that she didn't even notice that somebody was already watching over her... observing her every move closely.

Sasuke was on his way back to the Uchiha compound when his eyes saw a pink blur. He stopped in mid-leap and went nearer to where he saw the blur. His suspicion was correct. It was Sakura. She was crying in that training ground that was near the compound.

He noticed how puffy red her eyes were looking. Didn't the Hokage told them that she was resting at home? Then why was she here having a crying session? Was she in here for a long time already? Why the hell would she cry when the Hokage said that she only needs some rest?

Still in his train of thoughts, he suddenly began to move nearer to Sakura. He also masked his chakra just in case Sakura would feel it but he doubted it, seeing that the girl was too distracted.

Unexpectedly, he stepped on a twig that made a snapping sound. He cursed himself for his stupidity. How could he not notice that god-damn twig?

* * *

Sakura shot her head upward. Then, she saw Sasuke walking near her. Her eyes widened and on instinct, she wiped her tears quickly. Before she could run, Sasuke already caught her wrist and pulled her.

"Sakura…" Sasuke addressed in a monotonous voice. "What the hell is this all about?" he asked worry lacing in his voice.

"Wh-what are y-you talking ab-bout, Sas-sasuke?" Sakura stuttered. She mentally slapped her forehead for doing that.

Sasuke then narrowed his eyes at her. Something was really wrong. Since when did Sakura stutter? That was the Hyuuga-heiress's thing. "Tell me what's wrong," he demanded.

Sakura began to struggle under Sasuke's grasp. She couldn't tell him. And she wouldn't. "There's nothing wrong, Sasuke," she said now in a somewhat-calm voice.

Sasuke glared at Sakura. He just couldn't get why this girl was so stubborn. "Then why were you crying?" Sasuke asked in an annoyed voice.

"It's not your business," Sakura blurted out as she still struggled under his grasp. Then her eyes widened at what she just said.

Sasuke was also shocked. _It's none of your business_. _Stop concerning yourself about what I do_. He remembered telling that to Sakura before he left to go to Sound. His grasp on Sakura loosened a bit.

Sakura took this as a chance of evading Sasuke even for now. She began to pull her wrist back and when it was completely free, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sasuke then realized what just happened and cursed himself. How the hell did Sakura manage to take him off-guard so fast? Then, he felt a pang to his heart. He ignored it and glared at nothing in particular before also disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

A/N: 

Another chapter done!!! Hope you liked it!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!


	15. The Regrets

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thanks to all the readers and reviewers and those who put me in their alerts!!! I would also like to thank all those people who pm-ed me… Anyway, hope you're going to like this chapter!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto but now… Sasuke and Sai are back to me!!! YAY!!! Thanks LuluChild!!! Anyway… on with the story!!!

* * *

Chapter 15: **The Regrets**

Sakura was sitting in front of her bedroom window. She was sitting on the floor. She had already stopped crying and was now staring unfocused on the skies outside. Her back was leaning on her bedpost and both her legs stretched on the floor.

She sighed for the fifteenth time since she went back to her apartment. Her train of thought was now filled with images of Sasuke. She was quite puzzled by the boy's or rather, young man's behavior and actions.

Why in the world would Sasuke be concerned about her? Hell, he even had to grip her wrist that tight. 'Maybe because I am his friend,' she thought trying to reassure herself. But then, Kabuto's words rang in her mind. _His new objective in life is YOU._

She shook her head in the hopes of getting rid of Kabuto's words but her efforts were found to be useless. 'I'm just his friend. He would never like me in _that_ way,' she thought although she was beginning to doubt it herself.

Then she stood up from her position and began to walk out of her apartment. She didn't even think of the fact that Sasuke might still be looking for her. 'I'll just pray to Kami-sama to help me to avoid Sasuke seeing me,' she concluded to herself as she began strolling around Konoha.

She walked and walked until she found herself standing in front of the bench where Sasuke left her when she tried to convince him no to go to Sound. A flash of sadness and pain appeared in her emerald eyes as she stared at the bench. To some, it may just seem to be insignificant but to her, and maybe even Sasuke, it would mean a whole lot. The memory of Sasuke's departure was still fresh in her mind as if the event just happened yesterday. A memory of herself crying and trying to convince Sasuke flashed in her mind. She could still remember Sasuke's words clearly.

_Sakura, arigato._ She heard the words being whispered by the wind. She didn't even realize that a single tear had already escaped her eye. She wiped the tear away and sadly smiled before sitting on the bench. It might seem illogical to sit on that bench seeing the painful memory it held for her but she herself didn't know the reason for doing it.

'If only he hadn't gone to Sound. Then maybe, just maybe, I could have spent some time with him before this happened to me,' she thought sadly as she stared at the clouds above her. Then she sighed.

* * *

"Sakura…" a familiar person called to her.

Sakura turned and saw her former sensei, Kakashi. "Hey Kakashi-sensei," she said in a hearty voice that she didn't know where came from and put a fake smile on her face. She knew that Kakashi noticed that the smile did not even reach her eyes and sighed inwardly for being to obvious. After all, she knew that Kakashi was very perceptive when it comes to their behavior and she knew that Kakashi could see through her smile.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked as he sat beside Sakura. Sakura was quite surprised at his action seeing that he never did just talk to them about the things that are happening to them, well, she never experienced it before.

"And of all the places here in Konoha, why stay here?" he added looking at her with his only visible eye.

Sakura smiled a little before answering. "I guess I'm just kind of regretting some things right now… I mean, Sasuke's already back in Konoha and Team 7's going to be together now but… I feel like I'm going to lose my chance of being with all of you again…" she said her voice wavering a little as her eyes began to well up some tears.

Kakashi sighed loudly which got Sakura to look at him questioningly. "This already happened before… You crying and me trying to cheer you up… in the hospital roof, remember?" Kakashi asked as the memories of that encounter appeared in front of his eyes.

Sakura didn't say anything because she also found herself also reminiscing. Kakashi continued. "Back then, I told you that everything's going to be alright… I even asked you to stop crying and smile instead…" he said. "But we all know that it wasn't what happened… We weren't able to retrieve Sasuke… I just had your hopes too high that I made it hard for you to accept the bitter reality… Now Sakura, I don't want to do that same mistake again… but I'm going to assure to you that we will always be here behind you to support you no matter what even if it kills us," he said smiling warmly.

Sakura was shocked at what Kakashi just said to her. It wasn't normal for him to say such things which only made her appreciate it a whole lot more. A few tears managed to leak out of her eyes and she did something that neither herself nor Kakashi was expecting. She hugged him.

Kakashi was taken aback by the sudden gesture but returned the hug nonetheless. He knew that Sakura needed all the support she could get at the moment. When Sakura pulled back, she now had a warm smile and a determined gleam on her eyes. Kakashi couldn't help but feel proud that he had been given a chance to have her as his student. She had always been so determined

"Arigato gozaimasu, Kakashi-sensei," she said smiling at Kakashi who also returned the smile.

"There's nothing to thank me for, Sakura… We're a team, remember?" he asked as he stood up. "Well… I got to go now… I still have a solo-mission to do after all. And oh, just so you know, Sasuke's coming right this way," he added as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

When Sakura was about to stand up, Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of her startling her a little. 'Great now he's going to ask me what's wrong with me again,' she thought slightly anxious about how she's going to escape him now. "Hey Sasuke," she said in the same hearty voice she used earlier when she greeted Kakashi. 'Hopefully he won't demand some answers now, seeing that I'm already okay,' she thought praying to Kami-sama that Sasuke would just leave her alone even for now.

Sasuke just stared at her intently as if scanning her from head to toe. Sakura began to feel uneasy under her gaze and was already on the verge of running away when Sasuke suddenly spoke.

"Stop being near that bench, you know that it's just giving the both of us some unwanted memories," he spoke quietly before walking away.

Sakura was too confused at what just happened and was still in the position she was in for ten more seconds. She was confused at what Sasuke just told her. She tried to decipher Sasuke's words. Her face scrunched a bit due to bewilderment.

Was Sasuke already regretting the things that he had done before? She knew that it would be possible but she could never be too sure. She sighed before standing up. She eyed the way Sasuke retreated to before making her own way back to her apartment.

She couldn't help but see that Sasuke had been dropping hints left, right and center for his interest on her. Though it was already clear that Sasuke likes her, she still denied that fact. It was just too regretful and disappointing to see that the one she had loved for so long was already returning the love she offered him but now, there was a chance that she could die which would just hurt him and make him lose another loved one in the end. She knew that she would have to tell Sasuke to forget about her already and just find another girl. Sure it would hurt her but she knows that it was for the best. She just hoped that it would not be too soon.

* * *

A/N: 

Another chapter done!!! Hope all of you readers liked it!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

On a side note: I have been really bewildered why most of my classmates who watch Naruto or read the manga say that Sai is a gay. Of course I say that he isn't one but then they do have their reasons to think of him like that… now… I'm going to ask you guys… Do you think Sai is a gay? Why or why not? Please tell me what you think… Ja ne!!!


	16. The Feelings and the Medical Treatment

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thank you to all the readers and reviewers and all the supporters of this fic!!! I would also like to thank those who answered my question about Sai… Thank you!!! Anyway… Hope you'll like it!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: Still not owning Naruto… (sighs) Hey Santa… Could you please give me the series as a gift for Christmas?

* * *

Chapter 16: **The Feelings and the Medical Treatment**

Sasuke was lying on his bed. It was already midnight and yet, sleep was still deprived to him. Even if he tried closing his eyes, the only image that he could see was the image of his pink-haired teammate and friend… the image of the first person he even became fond of since the massacre… the image of the girl with those stunning emerald orbs that have a life of their own… the image of Sakura…

He tried to stop himself from having thought of her but he himself knew that it was just useless. Suddenly, the image of her crying flashed in his mind. It made him curious. Why would she be crying in an abandoned training ground? Does she have any problem? What is wrong with her?

These thoughts were what kept him awake all night. He just realized that it was already morning when his alarm clock rang, signaling him that it was already 6:00 in the morning. He was shocked at this but nonetheless gone up from his bed. He groaned when he realized that he now has a headache due to his lack of sleep. Kami, what this girl could do to him. He sighed as he entered his bathroom to take a shower which would hopefully, clear his mind even if it was just a little bit.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she got out of bed. She just had some dreams about Sasuke. She knew that she had to stop herself from falling in love with him again which is probably not the case since she had always loved him from the beginning anyway. She knew that she had to stop this madness before it gets worse especially now that there was a possibility that Sasuke was now falling for her.

She cursed fate for being so mean to the both of them. First Sasuke lefts Konoha and now she is the one who would be leaving but this time, it was going to be forever. How could something this bad happen to them?? They have already suffered. Was it still not enough? Have they done something so evil in their past life that they had to suffer this much now?

Just when she was thinking all these thoughts, she saw a hawk enter through her window. 'It must be from Tsunade-shishou,' she thought as she took the message attached to the leg of the hawk. It read:

_Sakura,_

_Go here as soon as you can. We're now going to start your treatment._

_Tsunade_

She read the message again. Then, she felt a spark of hope from her insides. She became hopeful that maybe, they would be able to change their fate. Even though there was not a big chance, she could feel that somehow, everything will be alright.

She went on with her usual morning routines although she did them in a much faster rate. She knew that her master really doesn't have much patience, after all. Then, she went out of her apartment and went towards the Hokage Tower.

* * *

"Enter," Tsunade said as she heard three knocks on her door. She saw Sakura opened it and then entered inside. "So you received my message," Tsunade said to Sakura who just nodded. "Very well, let's start. Follow me," Tsunade said as she stepped out of her office and went towards the Konoha hospital. Sakura just followed her master.

They arrived at an empty room which had a single bed in the center. Sakura wondered what Tsunade was going to do to her. Then, Tsunade went to get two basins with one that was filled with water. Sakura's eyes widened slightly as she realized what Tsunade was going to do to her. It was the same method that she used on Kankurou when he was poisoned by Sasori back then. But she wasn't poisoned, was she?

"Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura called to Tsunade. Tsunade didn't reply but just continued on setting the things needed until it was all set.

"Sakura, please lie on the bed," Tsunade ordered Sakura who was still confused but nonetheless followed. "I know that you are confused but I know what I'm doing. This will be similar to how I extract poison from a person's body which I already taught to you. The only difference this time is that I will be extracting the cancer cells from your body which is far more complicated plus the cancer cells in your body are far greater in number," Tsunade said. "Also it would be more painful," she added.

Sakura just gulped and felt her being bound by chakra strings. She knew that she had to be bound by them seeing that she has inhumane strength. She felt herself starting to shake due to fear and nervousness. Then, she ordered her mind to calm down and hope that the pain would be worth it in the end.

Tsunade formed a bubble of water with her hands which came from the basin. Then, she willed her chakra to force the water inside Sakura's body. A scream escaped Sakura's throat as she felt the cells being drained by the bubble of water. She struggled under the chakra strings.

Tsunade looked sympathetic at her student but nonetheless continued until some of the cells were now out of her body and were transferred to the empty basin. Then, she formed another bubble of water that drained more of the cancer cells in Sakura's body. This continued until all the water from the basin was already filled with the cells.

She wiped her sweat-filled brow and looked at her now sleeping student due to the stress brought by the treatment. She cut the chakra strings that bound her student and put a blanket over Sakura. Then, she left the room.

* * *

This treatment continued for weeks now. Although, they have gone under many sessions, Sakura was still feeling weary and she was beginning to get scared. She thought that she was going to be cured but why was she still showing signs of leukemia?

Tsunade assured her that she was going to be alright but she still doubted that seeing that even her master was also beginning to doubt herself even though she won't show it. She was after all her apprentice so she was able to see through her movements.

She had also been avoiding Sasuke for weeks now. She knew that she had to do it seeing that she would just be complicating the matters if she didn't. Also, she was beginning to get pale as the days gone by not to mention how she was now getting weaker by the second. What she didn't know was that Sasuke had been frustrated as hell because of her sudden disappearance.

* * *

A/N: 

Another chapter done!!! Hope you guys liked it!!! Anyway… next chapter is when there'll be more SasuSaku interaction… Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!


	17. The Frustration and the Encounter

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thanks to all the readers and reviewers!!! I would like to dedicate this chapter to LuluChild for her birthday last Saturday. Belated happy birthday!!! I am so sorry if I haven't updated much sooner but I still have a ton of projects to do… Anyway… Hope you guys are gonna like it!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Happy holidays!!!

Disclaimer: Will somebody please give me the series as a gift for this coming Christmas? Cause I still don't own it, y'know… (sighs)

* * *

Chapter 17: **The Frustration and the Encounter **

Sasuke glared at the ground as he strolled around Konoha. it had been weeks since he last saw the pink-haired girl and it was already driving him well, not really insane, but you get the point.

How hard could it be to find the only pink-haired girl he knows and sees in all the Five Great Countries? Hell, even at night, he could probably see any girl who would have that kind of flashy color for her hair. But then again, why the hell did the girl just vanish like that? Even when he tries to look for her in her apartment, he would always find it completely empty. Where in the world could she be?

Her sudden disappearance made him really irritated at the days gone by. Even Naruto noticed his grumpiness and of course, being the dobe Naruto was, Naruto would always say that he missed Sakura and that was the reason for his stuck-up-in-the-pants attitude as Naruto would put it. Of course, he would say that what irritated him was the dobe's big mouth although he himself knew that it was only half-true. He had already grown accustomed to the dobe's big mouth after all those years after all.

Sasuke sighed as he once again stopped in front of the 'missing' girl's apartment or apparently, the _hiding_ girl's apartment, but of course, he didn't know that. He knew that it was probably still empty so he snapped out of his gaze at the girl's door and continued walking. What he didn't know was that the person he had been searching for weeks now was observing his every move through the window. If only he knew that a powerful genjutsu was cast on the apartment to make it look empty.

He began making his way to the abandoned training ground where he saw Sakura crying. Ever since his disappearance, he began spending more of his idle time in there because he would because he would find the training ground soothing. He didn't know why though, probably because Sakura had once been there.

Although he also saw Sakura on that bench once, he still couldn't bear to be near that bench because of the guilt and regret it would always make him feel. Somehow, he couldn't help but be amazed by Sakura seeing that she had the courage to sit in that bench that had been the silent witness on what happened that night of his departure.

He went on walking until he saw the abandoned training ground. His eyes softened slightly at the sight of it. He went on his way to the tree which he usually leans on. He leaned on it with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. The tree was a cherry blossom tree which reminded him of Sakura more.

* * *

He thought of the reasons as to why the girl would just suddenly disappear like that. It had been three months since he last saw her and now his probation was already over. He was already reinstated a shinobi of Konoha and yet he still haven't seen her. He knew that the Hokage was hiding something that was most likely related to the girl's disappearance. He sighed in frustration. He knew that he should probably just train instead of thinking over this kind of things but then again, none of them have seen Sakura for weeks. No one had seen her not even Naruto, Ino or Sai.

Sure the three of them have been searching for her too but when the Hokage assured them that she was just village doing some research about some medical stuff, the three of them had relaxed a bit ever since. But he never did anyway. Although he acted as if he didn't care, he was still searching for her. He wondered how the girl managed to not be seen when on the first week of her disappearance, Naruto even had a thousand of his clones running all over Konoha just to search for her. It even had the Hokage so pissed off that Naruto was punished to do D-ranked missions for the whole succeeding week.

Speaking of Naruto, the dobe was running towards him as he could feel the dobe's chakra closing in at a fast rate. After a half second, he saw the dobe run into the training ground through his now opened eyes. He was panting so hard that he looked as if he ran around the whole village at a very fast pace.

"Hey teme," Naruto managed to said in the middle of his panting, "We found Sakura. Sai's got her cornered at Ichiraku," Naruto said before grinning. He was watching how Sasuke was going to react. He wasn't disappointed though, because he saw in Sasuke's eyes the yearning, the anger, the confusion, the happiness and some other bunch of emotions. When the hell did the teme become so much full of emotions? He had never seen him like this before. Before he knew it, he was already being dragged by the teme to Ichiraku.

Sasuke wasn't aware of his actions. All that he knew was that he wanted to see the cherry blossom. Hell, he didn't even notice that he was already dragging the dobe with him. His mind was too foggy. He was relieved to know that Sakura was alright but then again, didn't the dobe just say Sai got her cornered? Why the hell cornered? Then, it hit him. Sakura was purposely avoiding all of them. He didn't know why but he was going to find it out soon.

* * *

"Sakura," Sasuke said quietly as he saw Sakura sitting on her favorite stool. Sakura seemed to tense up a bit which puzzled him more.

'Why the hell did I even go here?' Sakura thought. She knew that she was now in deep shit with Sasuke being here and all. 'YOU WERE HUNGRY, REMEMBER? AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY GROCERIES LEFT SO YOU HAD NO CHOICE,' Inner Sakura replied. Sakura just had to sigh inwardly for being so unlucky today.

Naruto who was beside Sasuke and Sai who was beside Sakura were just waiting for Sakura to say anything. Then, Sakura turned around to look at Sasuke straight in the eyes. Naruto and Sai, who although was still confused about emotions, were both puzzled.

"Hey," Sakura said calmly. She knew that it was the only thing she could say at the moment.

"Hey," Sasuke also said. Then, he went over to sit beside Sakura.

Naruto who was still watching them was now even more confused. He couldn't help himself but blurt out his confusion. "What the hell is wrong with you two?!?" Naruto blurted out as he pointed at Sasuke and Sakura. "First you dragged me all the way here teme and now all you say to Sakura-chan is 'Hey'?!?" Naruto cried.

"Dobe just sit down and eat okay?" Sasuke said wearily. He himself was confused but of course he wouldn't show it. He knew that he would have to talk to Sakura later when Naruto and Sai were already gone.

* * *

A/N: 

Another chapter done!!! God, this chapter took me years to finish. I am also annoyed by the fact that I'm going to the province tomorrow and I still have two research proposals to do, a whole notebook to rewrite and five page-long novel analysis to do. And it is already our vacation. Anyway… there might be a possibility that this will be my last update for this year because I still have many things to do and I only got two weeks to do all of them. Sorry but I'll try to update if I could although I'm not so sure if I could. Sorry about my rambling… Hope you guys liked it!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Happy holidays!!! Ja ne!!!


	18. Unexpected Info, Realization & Promise

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the first chapter of **The Dance of Fate** for this year!!! I am VERY, VERY SORRY for not updating ANYTHING for like THREE FREAKING WEEKS… I know that some of you readers and reviewers are so angry at me right now… and for that… again… I AM SO SORRY… School's just too hard for me right now… and I don't have time to do any chapter during the vacation because of all the homework and projects I have to do… Please bear with me… Anyway… I hope you guys will like this chapter… Please read and review… Constructive criticism is welcome…

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto… if anybody would be kind enough please give me the series as a gift for my birthday tomorrow… I'm officially turning 15 y'know… Anyway… since it's my birthday tomorrow please be kind with the reviews… even though some of you are mad at me for making you guys wait…

* * *

Chapter 18: **The Unexpected Information, the Realization and the Promise**

Naruto was still confused but ate ramen nonetheless. After all, it was ramen they were talking about. Sasuke and Sakura including Sai were all quiet as they ate their ramen. The Naruto suddenly broke the quietness that enveloped the ramen stand.

"Ne Sakura-chan, why did you disappear like that anyway? You made all of us worried, you know," Naruto said as he ate mouthfuls of ramen.

Sakura smiled a little before sighing. Sasuke who was observing her carefully took note of this.

"Gomenasai everybody. I was just busy these last few weeks," she said as she started playing with her ramen. She knew that she had to tell them everything sooner or later but she was not expecting it to be now. She also knew that Sasuke was most likely going to interrogate her later when Sai and Naruto are already gone.

"You think we'll believe that?" Sai asked quietly. He knew that Sakura was hiding from them on purpose.

Naruto looked at Sai curiously although he himself knew that Sakura was purposely hiding from them seeing that he and his bunshins searched everywhere during the first week of her disappearance.

Sakura was beginning to feel uneasy but she knew that she had to act calm especially since Sasuke was here. She knew that Sasuke was watching her pretty carefully.

"So you don't believe me guys, huh?" Sakura asked although she knew that she was in big trouble now. She could see it from the serious looks she was getting from Sasuke, Sai and surprisingly even Naruto. "I was assigned a top secret mission, okay? That was the main reason you haven't seen me for weeks," she lied. She knew that they would have second-thoughts whether or not to believe her but then again, she had no other choice.

"I see," Sai said quietly. "But why didn't you just tell us that?" he added.

"Shishou wanted it to be made a secret to everybody. She doesn't want anybody to know about the details of the mission," she said. She was already running out of excuses and she was starting to panic herself.

"But didn't you just say that-" Naruto was about to ask Sakura when he was cut off by Sasuke.

"She doesn't want us to know the details of the mission. She was already forced to tell us that she went on a mission. That's all that we could get out of her," Sasuke said quietly. Sakura glanced at him before speaking.

"Sorry Naruto, Sai but Sasuke's right," she said as she stood up. "Anyway, I'll be going now. Ja ne," she said before walking away from them silently praying that she would get home without Sasuke questioning her.

"Hn. I'll be going too," Sasuke said quietly before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Hey teme wait," Naruto turned to Sasuke but Sasuke was already gone. "That bastard," Naruto growled before facing his ramen again. He still has something to ask Sasuke after all.

"He's going to look for Ugly," Sai said before continuing on eating.

Naruto looked at him curiously. "You know something, don't you?" he asked as he ate his ramen.

"I believe he likes Ugly," Sai said simply as he continued to eat. "I think that is the reason why he acts like that."

Naruto spat out the ramen he was eating due to shock. "WHAT?!?" he yelled that almost all the people in Konoha heard him. "B-but it-it's Sas-sasuke we're talking about…" he stammered. Teuchi and Ayame just exchanged meaningful looks at this.

Ironically speaking, Naruto couldn't believe it. It was just too impossible for Sasuke to fall in love with the girl who he called annoying and a nuisance before. 'Payback really is a bitch,' he thought.

"How did you know this? I mean aren't you the one who got the emotion problem here?" Naruto asked Sai suspiciously. Who wouldn't? After all, it was SAI who noticed it.

"Unlike you Dickless, I do have a brain," Sai said smugly before standing up. "Just because I do have a problem with my emotions doesn't mean that I can't notice how he acts around Ugly," he added.

Naruto glared at Sai. He noticed how greatly Sai improved when it comes to emotions. Sure, he was still not that knowledgeable and he still can't express his emotions quite correctly but he improved when it comes to telling how a person is feeling at the moment. It could already be considered an achievement seeing how clueless he was before.

* * *

Sakura was walking as fast as she could. She knew that Sasuke was following her and right now, she was not yet ready to speak to him. Hell, she wasn't even ready to see him yet. Oh how life sucked for her.

Meanwhile, Sasuke who was following Sakura was growing more and more annoyed. Why was the girl purposely avoiding her? He knew that she was trying to escape him but she would not give her the liberty of doing that. She had no idea how frustrated he grew just because of her sudden disappearance.

With a sudden burst of chakra, Sasuke ran fast so that he could catch up on Sakura. He was finally able to catch up on her after a few minutes of fast running.

"Shit," Sakura muttered as she felt Sasuke's presence just a few steps behind her. After a few seconds, she became cornered by Sasuke. She hadn't realized that she was going to a dead end.

"Sakura," Sasuke whispered as she held Sakura's arms with his hands. He wouldn't let her get away this time. He needed her and he didn't even know why.

"Sasuke, please, you're hurting me," Sakura managed to say as she struggled under Sasuke's grasp. 'Why does it have to be me? Why can't he just fall for Ino or Karin or any other girl but me? I don't have enough time. I would just leave him all alone,' she thought.

"Why did you hide from us?" Sasuke said looking straight into Sakura's eyes. He noticed how Sakura was pointedly avoiding eye contact with him. He grew even more anxious because of this.

"I told you already," Sakura muttered as she continued on struggling. She was still avoiding eye contact with Sasuke. She could not afford to look into those eyes because she knew that she would just do something stupid if she looked at them.

"Don't give me that crap. I knew you were lying. You and the Hokage and even Kakashi are hiding something from us. And that is what I wanted to know," Sasuke said with a hint of anger in his voice. He knew that something big was happening and he wanted to know why none of them knew of it except Sakura.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly. She knew that if she stayed longer, Sasuke will figure everything out and she couldn't afford that to happen. She didn't want everybody to be worried sick of her. It was enough for her to go away from them just so hat they wouldn't notice anything happening in her.

"I'm sorry Sasuke but we're not hiding anything," she said as she smiled sadly at him. Then, she did something unexpectedly; she kicked the ground hard which caused it to collapse. Sasuke was caught off guard that she released Sakura who disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sasuke who jumped just in time so that he wouldn't get caught in the rubble cursed loudly. He knew that something was wrong with Sakura. Sure, she still had that monstrous strength but she turned significantly pale. Not to mention how she now had bags under her eyes and how thin she got. Hell, even when he was holding her he noticed how fragile she became.

His eyes widened as a memory flashed in his mind. He remembered overhearing Sakura asking for a check-up from the Hokage. He shouldn't have overseen that bit of information. Maybe that was the reason why she suddenly disappeared. He glared at the ground before promising himself that he was going to find out what was really happening. And Uchihas never break their promises.

* * *

A/N: 

I hope you guys liked this chapter… Again I am sorry for the SUPER late update… please bear with me guys… Anyway… please read and review… Constructive criticism is welcome… Ja ne…


	19. The Upcoming Mission and the Secret

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Sorry for the delay but I just had my field trip last Saturday and I also have a lot of homework to do so I haven't gotten any chance to type any chapter… and I also have some problems to tend to… Anyway… I hope you guys will like this chapter!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… if I do then Itachi's eyes would be the one to be ripped off and not Sasuke's… (spoilers)

Chapter 19: **The Upcoming Mission and the Secret **

Sakura sighed in relief as she closed the door of her apartment. She knew that Sasuke would find out about her sickness sooner or later but she preferred it being later than sooner. She couldn't even imagine Sasuke's reaction once he found out about it.

She then turned to look at the mirror to examine herself. She was quite puzzled as to why she got more shinobi admirers in her age group compared to any other kunoichi. Naruto liked her or may still like her, Lee even vowed that he would protect her with his life and now _Sasuke_… Sure she might have considered herself the luckiest girl on the planet if Sasuke had shown interest on him when they were still gennin but right now, at her current state, she couldn't be anymore disappointed and hurt.

Of all the times, why did Sasuke just had to fall for her now when she knew that there is a possibility that she'll die at an early age even without the help of enemy ninja. She still had no answer to that. She was so frustrated that she hadn't even realized that she crying in front of the mirror. She quickly wiped her tears with the back of her hand before smiling sadly at herself. Just then, she heard a knock at her door.

"Sakura-chan, are you there?" a familiar voice called.

Sakura, knowing that the person was not Sasuke, opened the door to reveal that it was Naruto. Naruto became worried when she saw Sakura's still glossy eyes. He knew that she must have cried just now.

"What's your problem, Sakura-chan? Why did you cry just now?" Naruto asked worry creasing on his forehead.

"I have no problem, silly," Sakura lied before letting Naruto into her apartment. "Why are you here anyway?" she asked once she and Naruto had seated themselves.

"Well, baa-chan had a mission for us Team 7 and also including Sai-teme. I was here to fetch you to the Hokage Tower," Naruto said worry still evident on his face.

"I see," Sakura said keeping a calm expression on her face although she was quite confused as to why she was included in the mission. "Well then, come on," Sakura said as she stood up.

Naruto also stood up and waited for Sakura as she locked her apartment. He was quite puzzled as to why Sakura had cried. He also knew that she had been hiding from them for weeks and he was also puzzled as to why she would do such a thing to them.

Naruto and Sakura walked in silence on their way to the Hokage Tower. Sakura knew that Naruto was probably deep in his thoughts seeing that Naruto would never be this quiet unless there was something bothering him or he was being serious about something. She knew that he had been worried about her crying but she couldn't tell him her sickness just yet. Yes, he might never be able to forgive her for not telling him much earlier but it was probably the best thing to do anyway.

Naruto had been thinking of the reasons for Sakura to cry. He knew that she was not the girl she used to be and that she wouldn't cry just like that because of something too trivial. He knew that something serious had been bothering her. She was just acting like she was alright although he knew that deep inside she was already in pain. He just didn't know why though. Then, a memory caught his attention.

_Flashback_

"_Wha-oh hey teme!!!" Naruto yelled as Sasuke dragged him away from his ramen. "What the hell was that all about?" he asked when they were already a good distance away from earshot._

"_Naruto, listen," Sasuke said urgently making Naruto turn serious. "I think there's something wrong with Sakura. Just now, she asked the Hokage to examine her if she had some illness or something," he added a worried gleam in his eyes._

"_Are you sure? How did you know this?" Naruto asked now holding a concerned look on his face._

"_I'm positive," Sasuke answered ignoring Naruto's second question._

"_But how did you know this? I mean you could just be joking," Naruto said now having both a worried and doubtful look. He knew that Sasuke would not joke about such serious matters but he just couldn't accept that Sakura is sick._

"_I just know, okay?" Sasuke said as he scowled. He wouldn't let the dobe know, with that big mouth of his, that he had been following Sakura. _

"_Fine, no need to be touchy, teme. I'm sure that Sakura-chan's fine. She's a strong girl," Naruto said his voice filled with determination and yet Sasuke could still not miss the uncertainty underlying it._

_End of Flashback_

'That can't be happening,' Naruto thought panicking slightly as the two of them continued to walk in silence. 'How could Sakura-chan be sick? She's a strong girl. She can't be…' his thoughts trailed as he eyed Sakura. He noticed that she had become much paler and thinner. Naruto came to a halt before reaching Sakura's wrist.

Sakura looked at her with confusion and slight panic. Naruto, on the other hand, looked at her straight in the eyes.

"Sakura… You're sick, aren't you?" Naruto asked with seriousness. He didn't even add the suffix –chan in Sakura's name. He wanted to know her answer badly. He wanted to prove to Sasuke that Sakura was just fine.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly at Naruto's question. She knew that she had no choice but to tell her the truth or else he would directly asked the Hokage which would just make matters worse. Tears started forming in her eyes.

"I… I'm sorry, Naruto," Sakura said her voice barely above a whisper. She then noticed the look of hurt on Naruto's eyes and just barely stopped herself from letting her tears fall down.

"But… you're strong!!! How the hell did that happen to you?!?" Naruto cried out of frustration. He just couldn't accept the fact that Sakura was seriously sick.

"I have leukemia… there's a possibility for me to die early," she said a tear now escaping the brim of her eyes. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted all of this to stop but of course, fate had been mean to her even when she was just a child. Then she felt herself being embraced by Naruto.

"It's going to be alright Sakura-chan… Tsunade-baachan is the best medic ninja in the whole world. I'm sure she'll be able to cure you," Naruto said before releasing Sakura from his embrace.

"Arigato, Naruto-kun," Sakura said as she smiled warmly at Naruto. Then she wiped the tears that had fallen from her eyes.

Naruto smiled at her with determination. He knew that Sakura needed support and he would always be there just for her. He was her friend after all.

"Naruto, could you please keep this as a secret?" Sakura asked minutes later when they had arrived to the Hokage Tower and were now making their way to the Hokage Office.

"But why?" Naruto asked confusion evident in his voice.

"Because, I'm not yet ready to see the reaction of Sasuke and Sai when they learn of this. Please just keep it a secret for now," Sakura pleaded.

"Okay then. Anything for you, Sakura-chan," Naruto said as the two of them arrived in front of the Hokage Office. Naruto then knocked on the door.

A/N:

Another chapter done!!! Hope you guys liked it… Anyway, please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!


	20. The Mission with Sakura and the Concern

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Sorry for the late update but I had been pretty busy and we just had our JS Prom the day after Valentines… I would also like to thank all those who answered my question and tried to answer my question… Thanks a lot… And to those who have not read my question last chapter or those who have read but noticed that it was gone, I removed the question because I think there will be some who knows me personally who would be able to read it which is not really a good thing for me… I know this chapter is short but I still have to do my research proposal in chemistry... Sorry... Anyway, I hope you'll still like this chapter!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… (sighs)

* * *

Chapter 20: **The Mission with Sakura and the Concern of Naruto**

"Enter," the voice of the Hokage said motioning Naruto and Sakura to enter the Hokage office.

The two then emerged from the door. They saw that Sai and Sasuke were already there even Kakashi was there much to their surprise. Sakura then noted that Kakashi might have been worried about her being sent into this kind of mission at her state. Even she was puzzled by her sensei's decision. She saw her sensei giving her a meaningful glance and understood that she would explain everything to her on private.

"Now that you're all here, I could already explain you this mission. It is an A-rank mission but that doesn't mean that it is that hard. The only thing that you will be doing is to escort the daimyo of the Fire Country and his family on their way to the Wind Country back and forth. They already have their own bodyguards but they still hired ninjas just to ensure their safety," Tsunade explained.

"Don't you think that this mission is over ranked? I mean it could just be a B-rank mission," Kakashi asked.

"Well, the Fire daimyo and his family had been receiving threats recently that is why the mission was ranked higher than it was supposed to be. Any other questions?" she asked. She just received head shakes from Team 7. "Good, you may start the mission tomorrow. You are already dismissed. Except for Sakura," she said. Sasuke and Sai looked at Sakura suspiciously while Kakashi and Naruto looked at her concerned but nonetheless stepped out of the office.

"I know you are wondering why I even sent you to this kind of mission when I was the one who opposes to it in the first place. I knew that you had been neglected in any mission and your duty in the hospital had been drastically lessened so I decided on sending you to this mission so that you'll be able to prove to me that you are worthy of still holding your title as a shinobi of Konoha," Tsunade said in a calm tone as she faced her student who was already on the verge of tears.

Sakura could barely contain her tears anymore. She was really grateful that she had been given the privilege of being Tsunade's student. She knew that her sensei was giving her a chance to prove herself and she was really thankful because of that. In return, she had to do everything that she could so that she'll be able to live up to her sensei's expectations.

"Arigato sensei," Sakura said bowing deeply. She could never be too grateful for her sensei.

Tsunade just smiled warmly at her before dismissing her and telling her to take care of herself.

Sakura had been pretty determined after that. She knew that she shouldn't fail her sensei; she knew that she shouldn't fail herself. She could do this. She would prove to everybody that she wasn't weak that even if her life was already limited she would still be strong.

* * *

Naruto had been thinking of what he had just discovered. He knew that Sasuke and even Sai had the right to know what is happening to Sakura but unfortunately, he had made a promise to her. He couldn't help but feel pretty worried about Sakura's health, who wouldn't especially if they knew that she had leukemia and her chance of survival is not yet that high.

Naruto sighed as he continued on walking. Sakura didn't deserve to be like this. She was too kind and too pure, for that matter, even if she did have a scary temper. She had always been the one to be hurt, sure he had been scorned by most of the villagers but she had been the one to suffer the most heartache, what with Sasuke leaving and with him training with Jiraiya.

He had the Kyuubi inside of him and he had his father as Yondaime (let's just say that he already knew that Minato was his father). Sasuke had his clan techniques, his Sharingan and the Cursed Seal. But her, she just had her weird colored-hair, her big forehead and her brain, and her inner self.

She had been the one who started from scratch. Yet, she was still able to bloom in the most amazing way but right now, it was like she had been back to zero when she was struck by that illness. It was just too unfair for her to always be the one who was weak, the one who only had her brains to count on.

He closed his fist tightly in frustration. Why, of all the people, did it have to be her? It could have been any random enemy ninja for all that he cared but no, it just had to be _her_. He knew that she had been pretty strong to handle this kind of situation bravely but he knew that she, too, cracks under pressure. Everybody does, even Sasuke, and to think that Sasuke could still stay cool even if he had his shirt on fire. He knew that if Sasuke would tell her how he really feels about her then she might as well just break apart wholly right there and then. Sakura could only take enough of everything because just she was just as fragile as what her name means.

Naruto stopped dead on his tracks and made a swift turn only to start running back to the Hokage tower, searching frantically for Sakura's chakra signature. He had to be there to support her no matter what. She could break (emotionally) at any moment and it would be VERY hard to glue her back to pieces, that was, if it was still possible to do that.

He would never be able to forgive himself if he wouldn't be there for her. He knew that she needed all the support she could get right now and he would make sure that she gets just that. Why? Because if she wouldn't get the best of it then she might as well just die that instant for she would already be dead inside.

* * *

A/N: 

Another chapter done!!! Hope you guys liked it!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!


	21. Her Friends and the Unanswered Questions

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**! I'm sorry for the really late update but I had been pretty busy with school and my semifinals just finished. And also our electricity just got fixed… Okay so it was like our electricity goes on and off every now and then for 4 freaking days… so please don't sue me yet… Anyway… thanks to all the readers and reviewers who had been pretty patient in waiting for my new chapter… Anyway… I hope you'll like this new chapter… Please read and review! Constructive criticism is welcome!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto… (sighs)

* * *

Chapter 21: **Her Friends and the Unanswered Questions**

Sakura was walking quietly back to her apartment. She was too immersed in her own thoughts that she hadn't felt the pair of eyes, make that pair of onyxeyes, watching her every move. 

She was thinking how she would be able to hide the truth from her two other teammates, namely Sai and Sasuke. She sighed as she thought of ways how she would escape their interrogation, especially Sasuke's. She knew how stubborn he could get. Before she could walk any further, something caught her eye that made her inner self curse loudly. She should have noticed it right away but she had been careless. 

She threw a kunai to said thing that caught her eye and that said thing blasted into ink. She sighed yet again before calling out to the person that had been watching her. "Sai, I know you're there," she said as a boy of her age jump down from the roof where he had been.

"You should have been more observant, Ugly," Sai said as he put his fake smile on. "If it weren't for that mouse then you wouldn't even be able to notice me," he even added. He now knew why Sakura was acting like this and why she disappeared for weeks. He already knew what the Hokage and the older ninjas had been hiding from his age group. 

Sakura flinched the slightest bit as Sai stopped fake smiling and she realized what this was all about. Of course he would know sooner or later. He's a freaking Anbu after all. "So what the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked as if she still didn't have a clue of what this was about.

"Don't play dumb. You might be a hag but that doesn't change the fact that you're smart," Sai replied seriously. "You know what this is all about so stop pretending that you don't," he hissed.

Sakura was confused by Sai's behavior. Since when did he become this emotional? But then again, constant exposure to Naruto must have had an effect on him. "Since when did you...?" Sakura kept her question hanging since she knew that Sai already understood it.

"Just now, I had my mouse follow you and Naruto when you were walking towards the Hokage tower," he explained briefly. He had this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't even distinguish what it was. He had read in a book that people would normally experience that sometimes but he just couldn't tell if that was really what he was experiencing right now. 

"Sai… I'm sorry for hiding this from you but…" Sakura said as tears started forming in her eyes, "I'm just not yet ready to tell this to you guys…" she finished.

"Then why did you tell Dickless about this but not me? Aren't friends supposed to tell their problems to each other?" he asked in a strangely hollow voice. 

"S-sai…," Sakura choked out before sobbing a little. She then hugged Sai. Sai was startled by this foreign gesture but complied nonetheless. "I know that friends are supposed to tell their problems to each other but hell, even Ino-pig had no idea about this… And she's my best friend since I was young," she said as she let go of Sai.

"I understand," Sai said as he smiled his real yet awkward looking smile. "I respect your decision. Sorry for invading your privacy. And I won't tell this to anybody," Sai said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

Unknown to the two of them, a certain person was watching them not from a far. That person could hear every word that they were saying and could see their every move. The only consolation for the two of them was that at least, they hadn't talk about Sakura's sickness straightforward or else, it would just bring much more problems to Sakura.

That certain person who was Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Sakura and Sai hug each other for a brief moment. But he let those thoughts slide for now seeing he still had more pressing matters to think about. 

Sasuke stared intently at Sakura as she continued on walking back to her apartment. She knew that something was wrong since according to Naruto, Sai was an unfeeling bastard as the dobe so likely put it. He also knew that Sakura wouldn't just hug somebody so randomly like that, well not really randomly but it was more like it after all. 

Sasuke then proceeded to making his way to Naruto since he heard that Naruto already knew what was going on with Sakura. He was quite frustrated as to why Naruto and even that Sai already knew what was happening while he was still left out in the dark. Why won't anybody tell him what the hell was happening?

Sasuke ran all the way to Ichiraku only to see that the dobe was not there. He cursed as he looked for Naruto's chakra signature. He also noticed that Naruto was now the one talking to Sakura. He ran to where they were as fast as he can and then proceeded to masking his chakra.

* * *

"What do you mean Sai already knows?" Naruto asked Sakura who just sighed. "When did he know? Who told him? If nobody told him, how did he know?" Naruto continued on bombarding Sakura with questions.

"He had his mouse follow us just before we went to shishou's office," Sakura said in a voice just above a whisper. "Naruto we have to stop discussing over this matter right now. For all I know _he_ might be hearing what we're talking about right now. You knew how stubborn and stealthy he could be," Sakura said as she cast a wary look on her surroundings. 

Sasuke who was hiding not far from them instantly froze. 'Were they talking of me?' he wondered. If they were talking of him, then why did they need to hide this thing from them?

"Sakura you knew that you have to tell him sooner or later. You're just breaking him much more than he already is. He loves you Sakura," Naruto replied quietly as Sakura stiffened at his last sentence.

"Naruto, of all the times to tell me that, why now? You know how much I suffered because of him and now that I knew that he already loves me, I'm already…" Sakura voice trailed as she stifled a sob. Great, now she was going to cry again.

Naruto hugged Sakura and rubbed her back. "I know it's going to be alright Sakura. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, it's the promise of a lifetime," Naruto said warmly. 

Sakura couldn't help but cry a little more at what Naruto just said. Those six words were what he had said to her when Sasuke had gone to Sound and Naruto had his first attempt at bringing Sasuke back to Konoha. "You're right Naruto, everything will be alright," Sakura said as she let go of Naruto. 

Sasuke tried to process everything that he had heard from the two of them. He knew that it was him they were talking about. He was quite shocked at how Sakura knew that he loves her. Sure, he knew Naruto would discover that sooner or later but Sakura? And then there was the fact that he had gotten so close to knowing what was wrong with Sakura but no, she just had to keep her sentence hanging just like that. Then he sighted Sakura and Naruto approaching his hiding spot. He had to get out of there right now and so he disappeared in a cloud of smoke only to appear in front of the Uchiha manor. 

He had so many questions in his mind but he hadn't even found an answer to any of those questions. But he would, tomorrow on their mission, he would confront Sakura. He would have his answers even if he has to force them out of Sakura.

* * *

A/N:

Another chapter done! I hope you guys like it! Please read and review! Constructive criticism is welcome! Ja ne! 


	22. The Kiss and the Truth

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!! I am very, very sorry for not updating but I have been in the province last month so I wasn't able to update anything while now I have been fretting over my chances in getting to a good university once I graduate high school… I know some of you might think that I am overreacting but the entrance exam or specifically the UPCAT is this coming August 2 and 3 so yeah, I have been attending this particular review center which is not that near to our house so I barely had time to do anything… And I also still don't know what course I'm going to take in college so I am a bit disorganized right now… Sorry about that… Anyway thanks to all the readers and reviewers for making this fic earn 102 reviews… I would also like to thank weirdcrazyanimefreak for being my 100th reviewer… I'm so happy that I'll give everyone a cyber cookie!! YAY!! So enough of the talking… I hope you guys will like this!! Please read and review!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto…

* * *

Chapter 22: **The Kiss and the Truth**

Sakura had started crying again after they have finished the mission and everybody had already gone home. She couldn't help but be more disappointed at Sasuke's actions. Why the hell did he just have to do that now when she was already sick? Because of what happened, she knew that she had to tell it to him now. After all, everybody in her team already knew it. She was just too scared to tell it to him before but right now, she knew that she had no choice.

The mission that they have done was just an easy one. Nothing was special about it. They hadn't even met any other ninja on the way. So much for being an A-rank mission as Naruto had grumbled more than ten times the whole trip. But what made that mission the most memorable for her was what happened the second night of their mission.

_Flashback_

_Sakura was staring blankly at the flowing river in front of her. Everybody was already asleep so nobody would even know that she had been gone or at least that's what she hoped. She heard some rustlings in the bushes behind her and turned to see who it was. She saw Sasuke emerge from them. She turned her attention back to the flowing river. She didn't even acknowledge Sasuke's presence. She just stood and continued gazing at the river._

_Sasuke started moving towards Sakura and stopped when he was already beside her. He too didn't utter a word. Both of them just stood there quietly, staring at the river in front of them wit different but disturbing thoughts running inside their heads. Their trains of thoughts flowing steadily just like the river in front of them._

_They stood there for about half an hour just staring at the river with its water flowing freely. Then, Sakura turned and started walking away. But then Sasuke suddenly pulled her back. Her eyes widened in shock._

_She turned around and saw Sasuke still holding her wrist. Both of their eyes met and Sasuke suddenly pulled her closer and crashed his lips on hers. _

_Shock was written all over Sakura's face. Her eyes were widened opposed to Sasuke's closed ones. Inner Sakura who have just reappeared was already screaming inside her head. "DON'T LET HIM KISS YOU!" Inner Sakura yelled._

_Sasuke's kiss was really passionate and it would make any girl melt in front of him, including herself. She felt as though Sasuke had wanted to kiss her for a long time now. She knew she had to stop this because if she didn't, it would just complicate things, meaning her feelings, a lot more and it's already complicated enough even without the help of Sasuke. _

_Sasuke couldn't help but feel elated at what he was doing right now. He couldn't help but crave for Sakura more and more, not the obsessed kind of course, well somewhat. He had wanted to do this for a long time and this was his chance. He hadn't exactly planned it but all that registers in his mind was that he wanted Sakura._

_Tears were starting to well in Sakura's emerald orbs. It wasn't because she hated the fact that Sasuke was kissing her right now, hell she had waited for a long time for that, but because she knew that this would only get her even more confused with her feelings. _

_With all the strength she could harness at the moment, she pushed Sasuke on the shoulders and broke the kiss. Sasuke was startled at this. Sakura couldn't help but let a few drops of her tears leak out of her eyes. _

"_Sasuke, I'm sorry but I can't take it anymore… Just find another girl who would love you with all her heart and that would become the perfect girl for you… I know that I've told you before that I love you but there's a difference between then and now… I've already moved on… Ever since the time we met you back then in one of Orochimaru's lairs… Please forgive me," she said. 'I don't want to leave you but I couldn't do anything about it,' she added in her mind before doing a hand signal and disappearing in a cloud of smoke. She then appeared at their camp and quickly went to her tent with tears continuously leaking in her eyes. She then lain down and cried herself to sleep. _

_Sasuke was hurt and confused at what just happened. He knew that Sakura still loved him and now he was returning the love that she had offered him all her life but… why did she tell him that she already moved on when he clearly knew that she hadn't? Why was she crying? Why did she apologize to him?_

_Her last words rang inside his head. __**Please forgive me**__… That's what she said to him. Millions of thoughts were racing in his head. He was mad at himself for startling her like that. He knew that something must be really messed up if she wanted him to believe her in something that both knew wouldn't be likely to happen. He had to know what the problem was. He didn't want not knowing things… and he didn't even know why._

_End Flashback_

Nobody knew what happened except the two of them but after that, Sakura couldn't even bring herself to look at Sasuke and Sasuke had looked as though he was just barely hiding his frustration and anger. The whole team noticed it, even Sai, but they didn't do anything to beat the matter out of them.

Sakura knew that this had to be done so she went out of her apartment and started looking for Sasuke.

* * *

Sasuke, who was training alone or more like venting all his anger and frustration at a poor tree, stopped when he felt Naruto approaching. He glared as Naruto came in view. The blonde too, was looking pissed off just like him. Then without further ado, he was slammed to a tree.

"What the hell?! Dobe!" he hissed as he glared even more intensely at Naruto who seemed to pay no heed to it which made him even angrier.

"Who the hell do you think, you are?" Naruto gritted through his teeth. His cerulean eyes had already turned red with slits. "Why the hell did you do that to her? Why didn't you even stop and think for one second? Huh?!" Naruto asked in a frustrated manner.

"Naruto, what the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke asked the exasperated blonde.

"Why the hell did you kiss her just like that?! You're already causing pain to her without even doing anything! Why did you just have to kiss right there and then when she was vulnerable?!" he cried.

"How did you know that I kissed her and why the hell would you berate me as if I've killed somebody?!" Sasuke hissed as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. If he had to provoke the blonde just to make him stop beating around the bush, then hell, he would do it.

"Can't you see, Sasuke? You were the one who said so yourself…" Naruto whispered as he let go of Sasuke. His eyes returned to cerulean and they became distant.

Sasuke could only be even more confused at this. But then, he remembered the conversation with the blonde dobe sometime ago.

_Flashback_

"_Naruto, listen," Sasuke said urgently making Naruto turn serious. "I think there's something wrong with Sakura. Just now, she asked the Hokage to examine her if she had some illness or something," he added a worried gleam in his eyes._

"_Are you sure? How did you know this?" Naruto asked now holding a concerned look on his face._

"_I'm positive," Sasuke answered ignoring Naruto's second question._

"_But how did you know this? I mean you could just be joking," Naruto said now having both a worried and doubtful look. He knew that Sasuke would not joke about such serious matters but he just couldn't accept that Sakura is sick._

"_I just know, okay?" Sasuke said as he scowled. He wouldn't let the dobe know, with that big mouth of his, that he had been following Sakura. _

"_Fine, no need to be touchy, teme. I'm sure that Sakura-chan's fine. She's a strong girl," Naruto said his voice filled with determination and yet Sasuke could still not miss the uncertainty underlying it._

_End Flashback_

"She's sick, Sasuke… She has leukemia…"

* * *

A/N:

Thank Kami I finished I finished that chapter!! Anyway, I hope you guys will like it and again, I am so sorry for not updating for a LONG time… Please read and review!! Constructive criticism is welcome!! Ja ne!!


	23. Acceptance and Determination

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! I know that I haven't updated anything for a very, very, VERY long time and I am really, really, TRULY sorry for that… If you guys want to sue me right now, then do as you please… I know it's pretty mean to just stop like that without any notice at all but it's just that I have been pretty much busy this previous year being it my last year in high school… I just want to enjoy the time I had left… hell, I haven't even watched any Naruto Shippuuden episode for a VERY long time… which did NOT help at all… but I have now graduated and since it's already summer vacation (at least from where I came from), I know have some time to start writing again… so yeah… Again, I'M SO SORRY… Please forgive me guys… As I have said, I now graduated high school and I am pretty much scared of going to college… And I have also passed all the entrance exams I took which was good… and now I'm going to enroll to De La Salle University which is the main reason why I'm terrified of college… Seriously, I think they're all going to gang up on me and tell me how poor I am… No offense to all the Lasallians out there but I am just pretty much scared of what will happen to me in college… Anyway, I recently got braces, which really sucked and now I'm having trouble eating… yes, it's pretty troublesome… So I guess I have already talked WAY too much so I'll stop my rambling now… I hope you guys would enjoy this… Please read and review… Constructive criticism is welcome…

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto… but right now I really wish that I do…

* * *

Chapter 23: **Acceptance and Determination**

"You're lying," Sasuke stubbornly said to the now grim-looking Naruto. "You can't be serious," he said as he shook his head in denial.

"Do I look like I would kid on this matter?" Naruto shot back at Sasuke.

They knew that Sakura was hiding from a bush not far from where they were. They both knew that Sakura had heard their whole conversation.

_Flashback_

_Sakura had been walking around the village for a long time now. She had searched every place that she thought possible for the location of Sasuke except one, the forest where she knew Naruto and Sasuke liked to train. She was heading there now when she heard a ruckus in the eastern side of the forest. She broke into a run plunging deeper into the forest in order to confirm if it was Sasuke and Naruto who were causing the havoc. Just then he heard Sasuke's voice._

"_What the hell?! Dobe!" he hissed as he glared even more intensely at Naruto who seemed to pay no heed to it which made him even angrier._

"_Who the hell do you think, you are?" Naruto gritted through his teeth. His cerulean eyes had already turned red with slits. "Why the hell did you do that to her? Why didn't you even stop and think for one second? Huh?!?" Naruto asked in a frustrated manner._

"_Naruto, what the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke asked the exasperated blonde._

"_Why the hell did you kiss her just like that?! You're already causing pain to her without even doing anything! Why did you just have to kiss right there and then when she was vulnerable?!" he cried._

"_How did you know that I kissed her and why the hell would you berate me as if I've killed somebody?!" Sasuke hissed as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. If he had to provoke the blonde just to make him stop beating around the bush, then hell, he would do it._

"_Can't you see, Sasuke? You were the one who said so yourself…" Naruto whispered as he let go of Sasuke. His eyes returned to cerulean and they became distant._

_After a moment of silence, Naruto finally spoke. he had finally said what she was hiding from Sasuke. _

"_She's sick, Sasuke… She has leukemia…"_

_End Flashback_

Sakura was crying silently when she heard some movement approaching the bush where she was hiding.

She knew that she was already spotted, it was a wasted effort anyway, and she hastily wiped the traitor tears that were continuously pouring down.

She looked up and saw Sasuke looking at her with eyes full of emotions and yet the most notable of them was the sadness.

"Was this what you were hiding from me? Was this the reason why you lied back there to me when we were on the river?" Sasuke asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Sakura stood up and noted that Naruto was looking at both of them. Naruto then waved his hand a little before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Naruto knew that it was their problem and they have to solve it on their own. He had done his part by breaking the news to Sasuke and all he had to do now was wait and hope that everything would be okay.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry – I was just to scared to – I didn't know how you would react – I'm sorry!" Sakura exclaimed as she broke into a run. She knew that Sasuke would be able to catch up to her but she ran anyway.

As expected, Sasuke caught up with her. He pulled Sakura by her wrist and pulled her fiercely into an embrace.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry," Sakura repeated over and over again as she buried her face on Sasuke's chest.

"Don't be. I should be the one who's sorry. I was the one who caused you pain back then. And I'm still the one causing you pain now. Naruto was right. I should have kissed you like that when you were so vulnerable," he said as he pulled her tighter to him.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you much earlier. Instead of causing you pain like this. I – I'm sorry. I'm causing you pain right now," she said as she cried some more, already soaking Sasuke's shirt with her tears. "I have promised myself that when you come back, I would be strong. But look at me now," she said, looking up and smiling weakly at Sasuke, "I'm as weak as ever."

"No you're not weak. I was wrong when I told you that. You were much, much stronger than me. When I left, you did your best to become stronger on your own. You weren't like me who searched for power even if it was from the devil just to become stronger," Sasuke said as he looked faraway, recalling some unpleasant things that he have done to both Sakura and Naruto when they met before he came back to Konoha.

They stayed silent for a while, each of them immersed in their own thoughts. Then Sakura spoke, breaking the silence.

"Sasuke, I know that I have a much bigger chance of dying - " Sakura said but then Sasuke cut her off.

"Never say that!" Sasuke exclaimed angrily. "You can do this, okay?" he said as he looked at her with blazing determination.

'_Weird,'_ Sakura thought. It was always Naruto who gives her the pep talk. She wondered if Naruto had finally been able to rub on Sasuke or if Sasuke was just determined to not let her give up. "Thank you, Sasuke," she said as she concluded that it was the latter. How ironic it is, to think that it was Sakura thanking Sasuke now.

"I haven't done anything for you, other than hurt you that is," Sasuke whispered as he let go of Sakura.

"What you have told me today is already enough for me," she said her voice also as loud as that of a whisper. With that, Sakura turned as if to start heading home. "Bye, Sasuke," Sakura said before she started walking away.

Sasuke hesitated for a bit but then finally called on Sakura. "Sakura," he said.

"Yeah, Sasuke?" Sakura turned to look back at Sasuke. She was waiting for him to say something that she wanted to hear but then again, she knew that it would just complicate matters much, much worse.

"Nothing, I guess. See you later," he muttered as he began walking the other way.

"Oh. See you later, then," Sakura said with a hint of sadness and disappointment in her voice. She hoped he wouldn't notice it. Then, she also started heading back to her apartment.

Once Sakura was far enough, Sasuke started running really fast, hitting a tree with his Chidori while in it. (A/N: He's still in the forest.) He then, punched and kicked said tree with all his might. When he got tired, he laid down on the grass with his arms spread out. He looked up at the sky and began to curse fate who was messing his life. He began to think of the things that could have happened if he didn't leave Konoha. He began to think of the 'could-have-beens' between him and Sakura. He wondered if he would have been able to tell her that he loved her much earlier if hadn't left. Then, he felt the moisture that in his cheeks. He realized that this was the first time that he had cried after the massacre of his clan. He noted, with black humor, how it involved him losing another precious person of his.

'I have to become strong for Sakura. Even if it was true that she had moved on, I will still love her and I would reassure her that I, along with Naruto and the rest of her friends would just be there for her,' he thought as he stood up and headed back to his apartment.

* * *

A/N:

I know. It was a short chapter and I'm really sorry for that but I feel like I'm just starting to write all over again. It has been a while since I wrote something like this. I do hope that you still enjoyed it. Please read and review! Constructive criticism is welcome!


	24. Hope, Frustration, Doubt and Reassurance

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konnichiwa!!! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thanks to all those who reviewed and to all those who added me in their alert lists and favorite lists!!! Thanks for all the support!!! I know that I haven't been able to update much and I would do my best to make up for that… This chapter is dedicated to **Ai Aika**… I hope you guys would enjoy this chapter!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… I also do not own Edward Cullen… not that he is here in the story but I really do wish that I do… anyway, enjoy!!!

* * *

Chapter 24: **Hope, Frustration, Doubt and Reassurance**

Once Sakura got back to her apartment, she made her way to her bedroom and slumped on her bed. She began to smile a little as she looked up to the ceiling of the room. "It could have been worse," she muttered to herself as she remembered how Sasuke accepted the news about her sickness.

The hug they had shared and the encouragement Sasuke gave her made her smile but then that smiled turned into a frown when she remembered how Sasuke hesitated to tell her whatever it was that he wanted to tell her before she went home.

'I wonder what it was that Sasuke wanted to tell me,' she thought.

'MAYBE HE WAS PLANNING TO TELL YOU THAT HE LOVES YOU,' Inner Sakura said.

'As if… even when he kissed me, he didn't tell me that,' she argued.

'THAT'S BECAUSE HE DIDN'T HAD A CHANCE TO SAY THAT. YOU MADE SURE OF THAT,' Inner Sakura argued back.

'It was for the best. It's already complicated enough without him loving me,' she went on.

'GUESS IT'S TOO LATE NOW. HE'S ALREADY IN LOVE WITH YOU,' Inner Sakura said.

'He can't be. I won't let him. I don't want him to be hurt just like me,' she thought stubbornly.

'OH YES HE IS. AND HE IS ALREADY HURT WITH WHAT YOU SAID AND HOW YOU REACTED BACK THEN WHEN HE KISSED YOU. THE WORST PART OF IT IS THAT THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO NOW EXCEPT MAYBE ACCEPT HIS LOVE,' Inner Sakura insisted.

'Let's say I did accept it. What will happen then when I die? Both of us will just get hurt,' Sakura shot back.

'NOBODY SAID YOU WERE GOING TO DIE. AND BESIDES, YOU WERE ALREADY READY FOR YOUR DEATH WHEN YOU BECAME A KUNOICHI. WHAT MAKES THIS ANY DIFFERENT?' Inner Sakura said. 'HAVEN'T YOU BEEN IN NEAR DEATH SITUATIONS BEFORE? SAKURA, YOU HAVE FOUGHT BRAVELY BACK THEN. WHY NOT FIGHT BRAVELY NOW? BESIDES, SASUKE'S NOW BY YOUR SIDE IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN THERE FOR YOU. YOU SHOULD FIGHT, SAKURA. FIGHT FOR YOURSELF. FIGHT FOR YOUR FRIENDS. FIGHT FOR TSUNADE. FIGHT FOR TEAM 7. FIGHT FOR SASUKE. YOU'RE A STRONG WOMAN SAKURA. YOU CAN DO IT,' Inner Sakura said, her eyes blazing with determination.

'Maybe I can do it. I'll survive this. Besides, Tsunade-shishou's doing her best to cure me. I know she can. And I will help her fight this. I won't die. Not now that Sasuke's already here. Not now when he already loves me,' she thought as determination and hope began to spark on her.

'THAT'S MY GIRL,' Inner Sakura said as she grinned widely.

* * *

Sasuke sat in silence as he twirled his kunai in his hand, many thoughts swirling in his mind. He then began to glare at nowhere in particular. He was thinking of how un-Uchiha-like it was of him to chicken out of something. He wanted to tell Sakura that he would always be there for her and that he would still love her even if she already moved on, _if _that really was the case. But when he was about to say it, he just had to chicken out the last second.

Maybe it was the reason why he got a chicken-butt hairdo while the other Uchihas have gotten cool hairdos. Maybe it was because he really was a chicken inside. Just look at Itachi, he's hair was still envied by many, including him, Sasuke. (A/N: Sorry… Can't help it… hahah…)

Anyway, he got so frustrated with himself. He berated himself for being such a coward. But then again, he _had_ a reason to chicken out of what he wanted to say. After all, what happened after he kissed her back then was still etched clearly in his mind. And the pain he felt still hadn't subsided in the least.

The rejection he received from Sakura wounded not only his ego but also his heart. He didn't expect that that would be how Sakura would react. He thought that Sakura would be happy, especially now that he was already returning her feelings for him. Now he knew the reason to her actions back then but that didn't make things better. It just made them worse thus, resulting to him having second-thoughts. Fate really seemed to hate him so much. Maybe it was true that fate was an ugly, cruel, bitter harpy. (A/N: Quoted by **Edward Cullen** in _Midnight Sun_… hahah…)

Before his thoughts got any wilder, he decided to take a walk to find a certain blonde dobe who have been the key to his awareness of what was currently happening to Sakura. He needed his advice on this matter even though he already had an idea of Naruto's opinion on the matter. Maybe if he came across his former sensei then he could also ask Kakashi. After all, they knew Sakura inside out and they also knew what was best for her. With that thought in his mind, he went on his way to Ichiraku to search for Naruto.

* * *

(A/N: This is a sort of flashback. This happened right after Naruto left Sasuke and Sakura alone in the forest and before Sasuke started looking for Naruto.)

"Did I do the right thing, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked his former sensei who wasn't even reading his Icha Icha Violence. It was a bit shocking, really, but then again, this was a serious matter after all.

"You did. We both know that it would only take a matter of time for Sasuke to know this. And we both know that if he discovers this by his own, then all hell will break loose. Besides, Sakura wasn't ready yet to tell it to him herself. You made things better by being the one to tell it to him the truth," Kakashi said as he looked at Naruto who had a dejected appearance as he looked at Konoha from the top of the Hokage mansion while he leaned on the railings.

"But what if teme and Sakura-chan's relationship didn't get any better? What if Sakura-chan just continues on getting hurt?" Naruto asked as worry creased his forehead.

"Naruto, I don't think that would happen. Besides, if that _did_ happen then it wouldn't be your fault. Don't blame yourself for something that was out of your control. If Sakura overcomes her depression and pessimism on her illness and if Sasuke continues on loving her even after he learned the truth, then there wouldn't be any problem," Kakashi said as he leaned beside Naruto.

"There won't be any problem except for the fact that Sakura-chan is still sick," Naruto muttered.

"Naruto, do you think that the Hokage would let her apprentice who was already a daughter to her die of leukemia just like that? Of course, she would do her best to cure Sakura. And Sakura wouldn't let this happen to her. She's too stubborn and too determined to let this just be the end of her. Not now when Sasuke's already here," Kakashi said as his expression turned thoughtful. "You really need to lighten up, Naruto. Everything will be just fine," Kakashi said as he smiled at Naruto (although it can't be seen because of his mask). Come on, let's go to Ichiraku. My treat," Kakashi said as he motioned Naruto to follow him.

'I do hope that everything will be fine,' Naruto thought before turning around and following Kakashi to Ichiraku.

* * *

A/N:

It is sort of a filler, but I think that the oints of view of each member of Team 7 should be seen regarding the matter of Sasuke knowing the truth. Anyway, it's still another chapter done… I hope you guys enjoyed this one… Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Additional Notes:

I'll be gone in a week because we're going to HK… I'm a bit excited since it will be the first time that I'll ride a plane and be out of the country… (I know… poor me…) So yeah… I'm not sure if I'll be able to update during that time and I'm also not sure if I'll be able to reply to your reviews… Sorry about that… Well, we're leaving 3:00 am later so till then, I guess…

(Warning: This is all nonsense so there's really no point in reading this…)

(Rant start) I have been addicted to playing travian lately and it just annoys me how many players have been attacking my village… (You don't have to understand this if you're not playing travian…) I mean I haven't done anything to their villages so why can't they just let me be? The worst part of that is that my whole army was killed… to think how much resources I used just to make that army… and also the fact that I can't finish the quest because my resources were never enough… It's really depressing, well for me anyway, since I really like the game even if it is a bit boring… Also, I don't know how the other players could get their population to grow so fast… Why can't I do that? Just for the record, I'm a Gaul… so yeah… that's just about it… Sorry if it didn't make any sense… hahah… (Rant end)


	25. Encouragement

A/N:

Hajimemashite and Konbanwa!!! Welcome to the newest chapter of **The Dance of Fate**!!! Thanks to all the reviewers and those who have added me and/or this story into their alert lists and favorite lists!!! I just got back from HK a week ago and I must say that it was fun being there, although the one thing that I did miss while I was there is the Filipino food. Maybe that's because food's the only thing stuck in my head… hahah… Sorry for the wait but after my trip to HK I was exiled to the province. And it was hell I tell you… I got no access to the internet and that's why I wasn,t able to update sooner…. I am really, really sorry… And before I forgot, I would just like to thank Yiruma (whoever he is) for composing the extremely beautiful piece _River Flows in You_. Really, that piece was so captivating and moving. It really is my sort of motivation nowadays in continuing this fic. It was a bit disappointing that it didn't become _Bella's lullaby. _Seriously, it was much, much better than what _Bella's lullaby _is now. You should try listening to it sometime. Anyway, I hope you guys would enjoy this chapter. Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… if I do, then this wouldn't be called a fanfiction work… just fiction… anyway, enjoy!!!

* * *

Chapter 25:** Encouragement**

"Dobe?" Sasuke called as he went inside Ichiraku. It was the first place he thought of where Naruto would be.

"What is it? I'm eating here," Naruto said, not really paying attention to whom it was who called him but then he realized a second later who it really was. Only one person would call him _dobe_. He froze for a bit and then made a slow turn in order to see if his assumption was correct. And as to be expected, it was Sasuke. He was about to speak but Kakashi who was sitting just beside him spoke first.

"Sasuke," Kakashi said in recognition. He motioned Sasuke to join them in eating. "Another miso ramen please," he said to the owner, Teuchi. Teuchi just nodded at him. "So Sasuke, what brings you here?" he asked. "Usually it was Naruto who always looks for you," he continued now with a hint of seriousness in his voice.

"I was actually looking for both of you," he said quietly as he sat beside Naruto. "But I thought you were still on your mission so I decided to find Naruto first. I wasn't really expecting to find both of you here," he said as he looked at both Kakashi and Naruto.

Naruto contemplated for a bit before speaking. "Sasuke, I'm sorry for being harsh in telling it to you especially when you weren't in your best mood but I just can't help my attitude back then and I thought that it was already time for you to know," Naruto said as he put his chopsticks down even if he still wasn't finished eating his bowl, it was his third actually.

"I know. And I thank you for that. I know that Sakura was scared of how I would react, that's why she wasn't the one to tell me. I would still love her," at this point his voice was just barely louder than a whisper, "but… I'm afraid that she won't accept it. Just like how I did it before to her," he said as his head hung low, his bangs covering his eyes.

Teuchi took the momentary silence as an opportunity to give Sasuke's meal. Then, he walked as far away as possible from the trio, busying himself, clearly to give them some privacy in their serious talk.

"Sasuke, Sakura loves you more than anything and anyone else in this world and you know that. Sure, she might say that she stopped loving you a long time ago but you know how bad a liar she is, surely, you could see that she is just lying to you. Besides, if you would show how sincere you really are with your feelings and if you would support her all the way with what she is going through right now, then, she would overcome all her fears and uncertainties and then it would work out well for both of you," Kakashi said in encouragement. He was a bit amused at how ready Sasuke was to die back then just to kill Itachi compared to how uncertain he is right now just because of his feared rejection. But then again, Sasuke already lost most of the people he loved; he probably couldn't bear to lose another one of those precious people.

"But after all those things that I did to her, what could I expect?" Sasuke asked in exasperation. He was really confused of what to do. Sure, he was good as a ninja but that's all that he could do. Fight. He didn't have any idea in the slightest of what to do in this kind of things. He wasn't even sure if kissing and hugging her made it better or just worse. Hatred had been the most dominant emotion he had felt for many years. He was just beginning to be normal now that he was back in Konoha. How was he supposed to know what to do with this… this _love _for Kami's sake?

Well, it wasn't everyday that you see an Uchiha's perfectly-made façade shattered just like that. Naruto and Kakashi both knew that. This just means that this is really a serious matter for Sasuke. After all, what could you expect from somebody in terms of love when that somebody lost his whole clan because his brother killed them and was then in turn killed by him? They both knew that Sasuke wasn't the kind of person who is expected to be good in this kind of stuff. His ignorance in this matter of love is just as worse as Sai's. But at least he had a good reason to be ignorant in this stuff.

Naruto who had already grown a bit irritated due to Sasuke's pessimism shook his head before speaking. "Sasuke, you're a genius. I know that you can be a bit stupid sometimes, like in the revenge stuff and also in this kind of things, but you already did some things that clearly showed her how much you love her. All you have to do now is say it so that she'll have a confirmation. Then, all you need to do is wait for the outcome," Naruto said seriously.

"But dobe, it's not that simple!" Sasuke said angrily. He was annoyed at how Naruto had called him stupid and how simple he thought it was to do. Didn't he realize how complicated it really was? Sakura was sick and she was scared of accepting his feelings because she didn't want both of them to be hurt. How can the dobe NOT see the problem? Oh yeah… he IS a dobe, after all…

"But Sasuke, it's the best thing you can do, no; it's the ONLY thing you can do. I really can't believe that there will come a day that I will disagree with you and say that Naruto is right but I guess, today is that day," Kakashi said smiling slightly. "I'm sure Sakura is just waiting for you to say it to her," he added as an afterthought.

Oh great, so now the two of them are ganging up on him. "But Sakura is scared. She's not sure if accepting my feelings would be for the better or for the worse for both of us if this happens to end badly," he said, his eyes getting wild now. He was becoming desperate. Part of himself was agreeing with both Naruto and Kakashi but another part of him was telling him that both of them, him and Sakura, are not yet ready for it.

"So? Still tell her. Even if she did reject you, there's still nothing she can do about your feelings. At least she knows how you really felt. Show her how much she really means to you even if things went for the worst. Be there for her. Sasuke, you have to act fast. Time may be running out. Even if all of us didn't want to recognize it, there's still a possibility that she might die. Do you think you can continue on with your life if she dies and you still haven't told her how much you love her? There are no second chances here, Sasuke. It's between life and death. How can you even consider gambling your chances of telling her your feelings now? Save yourself from all the regret, Sasuke," Naruto said, his voice hinting some anger, as he looked directly into Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke was silent for a while. Still holding his gaze with Naruto, he thought of what both of them had said. He then, came up to the conclusion that both of them were right. He should be telling everything to Sakura now instead of wasting his time dwelling on the 'what ifs' that could happen. "Thanks," he muttered to both Naruto and Kakashi. He then nodded before running out of Ichiraku to find Sakura in order to tell her his feelings for her.

"Seriously, what is the matter with, Sasuke? He already kissed her. How can he even be chickening out now when he had the guts to do that?" Naruto asked to Kakashi after Sasuke had left them. He was starting to eye the ramen that Sasuke had barely eaten, evilly.

"Naruto, he may have just acted out of his impulse back then. At least we have done our part. Sasuke's now on his way to Sakura. Now, all we have to do is to wait for the outcome. Hopefully, it will be alright," Kakashi said as he thought of what would probably happen between his two other students.

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A/N:

Another chapter done!!! Well, I hope this chapter wasn't so lousy… Hope you guys enjoyed it!!! Please read and review!!! Constructive criticism is welcome!!! Ja ne!!!


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